Federal Employees Report Partisan Out-of-Office Messages Blaming Democrats for Government Shutdown
Furloughed federal employees across multiple agencies, including the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, were surprised to discover that their email accounts had been altered to automatically send out-of-office replies blaming Democratic Senators for the ongoing government shutdown. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is accused of encouraging this partisan messaging.
Mandated Partisan Messaging
The OMB reportedly provided email templates to federal employees, urging them to include language blaming "Democrat Senators" for the lapse in appropriations causing their unpaid leave. Agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) even "required" employees to use these partisan out-of-office messages.
The suggested message, as confirmed by multiple sources, read:
"Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume."
Employee Concerns and Hatch Act Violations
Many employees expressed anger and concern, stating they did not consent to the altered messages, which appeared to be written in the first person. Some worried that this constituted a violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities during their official duties. One Department of Education employee told ABC News that "We as career government employees need to be neutral when carrying out our jobs. This is such bull****."
Employees at the Department of Education further reported that their out-of-office replies were automatically reset without their permission. In some instances, employees who changed the message back to a non-partisan version found that it had reverted to the partisan wording later.
Agency Defenses and Website Messaging
A spokesperson for the Education Department defended the email, stating it "reminds those who reach out to Department of Education employees that we cannot respond because Senate Democrats are refusing to vote for a clean CR and fund the government. Where’s the lie?"
Furthermore, numerous federal websites, including those of the Department of Justice, State Department, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Small Business Administration, displayed banners and pop-up messages explicitly blaming Democrats or the "radical left" for the shutdown.
The Department of Agriculture’s website, for example, blamed a ‘Radical Left Democrat shutdown’ for the funding lapse.
Legal and Ethical Scrutiny
Watchdog groups, such as Public Citizen and the Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), have filed complaints and are urging investigations into potential violations of ethics laws and the Hatch Act. Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, is also urging an investigation.
Public Citizen has filed at least nine complaints alleging Hatch Act violations. The DDF has filed a letter with the government accountability office (GAO), expanding its calls for an investigation. The legality of using taxpayer-funded resources for partisan messaging is being questioned.
Wider Implications and Political Reactions
Democratic officials have rejected Republican attempts to blame them for the shutdown, arguing that the administration is using the crisis as a pretext to slash budgets and fire workers. In response to questions about the legality of the partisan messaging, a White House official pointed to examples from the Obama and Biden administrations where Republicans were blamed.
The controversy highlights the increasingly partisan environment within the federal government and raises serious questions about the ethical and legal boundaries of political messaging by government agencies and employees during a government shutdown.
