A preliminary list of speakers for the upcoming RNC Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas leaked on Saturday, and one name in particular is drawing attention from critics.

Axios obtained and reported on the early roster for the event, which has been described as a "first-of-its-kind" "Trump-a-palooza." Among those scheduled to speak is Attorney General Todd Blanche — a decision that immediately caught the attention of Christopher Hale, a former Obama campaign aide.

"The United States Attorney General is speaking at a national partisan political convention," Hale wrote Saturday night in a post on X.

As legal experts have flagged in the past, U.S. federal executive branch employees are prohibited by law from using their positions to influence elections. Because the attorney general is "on the clock 24/7," as former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance has noted, critics argue that Blanche's participation in a partisan convention represents a potential violation of the 1939 Hatch Act. The law is enforced by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent watchdog agency, which can investigate violations and refer findings for disciplinary action — though enforcement actions against Senate-confirmed cabinet-level officials have historically depended on the president's response, since removal is generally the remedy for such officials.

This is not the first time Blanche has faced such scrutiny. Last month, he came under fire after stumping for an ally of President Donald Trump at a campaign rally — a move numerous critics condemned as potentially unlawful. Nor is the issue unique to him: Hatch Act controversies have repeatedly surfaced in recent administrations, including findings by the Office of Special Counsel against senior officials in both the Trump and Biden White Houses over campaign-related activities.

Other observers, including former Bloomberg Opinion columnist Conor Sen, pointed to a notable absence from the list: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). The tension between Trump and Senate Republican leadership over legislative priorities has been a running subplot heading into the midterms.

Axios' Alex Isenstadt offered a possible explanation for the Senate Republican leader's exclusion. "One name that is notably absent from the list is Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who Trump has attacked for not doing more to pass election security legislation," Isenstadt wrote in Axios' Saturday report. "But Thune is scheduled to be in Dallas next week for fundraising, and organizers say they are still adding names to the list."

The United States Attorney General is speaking at a national partisan political convention. — Christopher Hale (@ChristopherHale) September 6, 2026