Danielle Caputo of the Campaign Legal Center said federal officials should not be "tipping the scales, behind the scenes" by pushing candidates to withdraw, though she noted proving a Hatch Act violation could be difficult. Stanley Brand, a Penn State law fellow, said Kennedy could face exposure under separate criminal statutes barring officials from using their authority to interfere with elections or offering benefits in exchange for political activity.

Who is going to prosecute Kennedy for a Hatch Act violation? The DOJ is an executive branch organization. That's the fundamental flaw with most laws passed by prior sessions of Congress that try to check the power of the Executive branch: there's no functional mechanism of enforcement when the entire branch is hostile to the law. That's the worst case scenario, and the one we're in, and it's the one none of these laws can handle.