It took more than five years, but the federal government has finally won the right to fire Keith Arnold, a federal employee who repeatedly ran for Congress in violation of laws against mixing government work with politics.
Mr. Arnold, who joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2010, ran in Washington state, usually as a Democrat though sometimes as an independent, in every congressional election from 2006 through 2022.
He earned his first warning in 2012 from the Office of Special Counsel, which polices politicking. In 2016 the OSC filed an official complaint charging Mr. Arnold with violating the Hatch Act, the law that limits federal employees’ political activities.