Union representing IRS employees endorsed Kamala Harris, not IRS itself | Fact check

The claim: The IRS endorsed Kamala Harris

A Sept. 21 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a clip of a man discussing political endorsements ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

"The reason people endorse candidates, particularly presidential candidates, is because they believe that that candidate, if elected, is going to help their purpose, their cause and advance their mission," he says. "The IRS just endorsed Kamala Harris."

It was liked more than 30,000 times in more than three weeks. Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

The IRS did not make any such endorsement. The labor union representing IRS employees endorsed Vice President Harris, but it does not speak on behalf of the agency.

Hatch Act restricts federal employees' political activity

The claim came days after the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents federal employees of more than 30 departments and offices including the IRS, announced its endorsement of Harris.

The selection was made in part because of Harris' stances on labor unions, fair pay and funding for federal agencies, Doreen Greenwald, the union's national president, said in a statement.

But the labor union is a separate entity from the tax agency.

“Our endorsement does not represent the IRS, and our union does not represent agency leadership, agency supervisors or agency managers,” Greenwald told USA TODAY.

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The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees, which includes IRS workers, from engaging in partisan political activity while working or otherwise representing the federal government. They may only participate in such activities in a personal capacity while off the clock.

Accordingly, there are no credible reports of the IRS endorsing Harris ? or any other federal agency endorsing a presidential candidate.

Groups including United Auto Workers, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Postal Workers Union have also endorsed Harris.

The IRS itself has not issued any statements announcing a Harris endorsement.

USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims related to Harris endorsements, including false assertions that the New York Times’ Harris endorsement is the paper’s first endorsement since Dwight D. Eisenhower, that Taylor Swift said she regrets endorsing Harris and that the Philadelphia Eagles endorsed Harris.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The IRS declined to comment on the record.

Check Your Fact and Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Doreen Greenwald, Oct. 16, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• IRS, accessed Oct. 16, News releases for September 2024

• National Treasury Employees Union, Sept. 18, NTEU Endorses Harris for President

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, the IRS didn't endorse Kamala Harris | Fact check