SO, LIKE PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THIS ADMINISTRATION DOES: EPA’s water-rule blitz was ‘covert propaganda,’ GAO says.

The EPA broke the law with its social media campaign promoting a controversial Obama administration water rule that has drawn fierce resistance from farming, development, oil and other industries, government watchdogs said Monday.

A Government Accountability Office report released Monday afternoon found that the campaign promoting the Waters of the U.S. rule violated legal provisions barring federal agencies from engaging in congressional and grassroots lobbying.

In particular, auditors concluded that the agency’s use of a “Thunderclap” campaign constituted “covert propaganda.” The campaign encouraged users to redistribute messages in support of the rule without identifying the EPA as the source of those messages.
The report comes as lawmakers are considering blocking the rule through a policy rider in the end-of-year spending deal.

Every time an agency does this, Congress should zero out its conference and travel budget.