White House spokesperson to speak at Republican convention

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany will speak at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, joining a growing number of Trump administration officials appearing at the GOP gathering.

Fox News reported Wednesday that McEnany will speak about the president’s support for her as a working mother, and will not address Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden directly in her remarks. Though Fox News cited an unidentified senior White House official, McEnany retweeted the article from her personal Twitter account. President Trump’s reelection campaign later confirmed her appearance. 

Other administration officials including White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have already spoken at the convention, sparking criticism that their participation violates the Hatch Act, which bars top administration aides from participating in campaign activities in their official capacities. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Pompeo’s appearance came remotely from Jerusalem, drawing further criticism that the secretary of State was spending time during official travel for a campaign event

A statement from Biden’s campaign Wednesday morning also argued that the convention has yet to feature the administration’s plan for further handling the COVID-19 outbreak and returning the U.S. to normal economic activity.

“President Trump’s [Republican National Convention] is an alternate reality. In this delusion, thousands of Americans didn’t die in the last week from COVID-19, nor have millions of Americans been infected or put out of work. Our economy hasn’t ground to a halt and our kids aren’t being kept home from school,” said Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield.

–This report was updated at 12:06 p.m.