Federal Agencies' Out-of-Office Messages Blame Democrats for Government Shutdown
Several federal agencies have altered employees' out-of-office messages to attribute the government shutdown to Senate Democrats, raising concerns about potential Hatch Act violations.
Employees at the Department of Education (DOE) discovered that their automatic out-of-office email responses had been modified without their consent to blame Senate Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown. The revised message stated that the shutdown resulted from Senate Democrats blocking a House-passed continuing resolution. One DOE employee, speaking anonymously, expressed concern over the unauthorized change, noting that the department altered the messages without staff knowledge or approval.
Similar directives were issued at other federal agencies. The Department of Labor suggested employees use an out-of-office message attributing the shutdown to Senate Democrats. The Small Business Administration provided a template for furloughed workers that blamed Democrats for the funding lapse.
These actions have raised concerns about potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity. Legal experts argue that mandating or altering employee communications to include partisan language could breach this law. Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, remarked that requiring employees to use partisan language in their communication with the public is unprecedented and feels incredibly coercive and invasive.
The Department of Education has not responded to requests for comment regarding these changes. The government shutdown began after lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement before the deadline, leading to the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal employees.
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