Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is the focus of an investigation by the Office of the Special Counsel into whether she violated the Hatch Act when she slammed Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, during an interview with Fox News early this month, Politico reported on Monday.

The Hatch Act is a federal law that bars top-level government employees, excluding the president and the vice president, from partaking in political activity.

Scott Peterson, the head of the investigative watchdog blog Checks and Balances Project, told Politico that Eric Johnson, a Hatch Act attorney in the office, had told him about the investigation.

In the Fox News interview, DeVos criticized Biden for saying he would roll back her school-choice policies.

"Today he's turned his back on the kids that we're talking about, and he's turned his face in favor of the teachers union and what they have to say and what they have to demand, and it's really shameful," DeVos said.

Politico reported that the Department of Education also distributed the Fox News clip in an email under the heading "From the Desk of the Secretary."