"This reads like electioneering," says Kathleen Clark, professor of legal and governmental ethics at Washington University law school in St. Louis, Missouri. "This reads as though it's intended to influence votes. That is prohibited by law."

Specifically, it would violate the Hatch Act, "the statute that prohibits using federal power and money to influence partisan political elections," she explains. It may also be a use of funds that's unauthorized by Congress.