The Partisan Weaponization of the 2025 Government Shutdown

By: Ethan Silver
Edited by: Clark Mahoney and Brooke Sharp

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history ended on November 12, 2025. The lapse in appropriations lasted 43 days, leaving approximately 1.4 million government employees without pay, suspending food packages to low-income families, and cancelling thousands of flights. [1] This record-breaking shutdown was different from its predecessors in more ways than one. Most discourse surrounded the consequential effects on government workers, federal programs, and the economy as a whole. However, another quiet controversy was brewing: the weaponization of partisan messaging by government agencies to blame Democrats for the shutdown. [2] These messages pushed the boundaries of political activity in non-partisan agencies and raised significant legal questions about political participation and speech in the federal government. 

Experts point to the Hatch Act of 1939 as the source of this legal dilemma. [3] This federal law, amended in 1993 and 2012, restricts certain political activities of civil servants to maintain an independent bureaucracy. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel states that the Act’s three main goals are to ensure nonpartisan federal programs, protect federal workers from political coercion, and ensure that federal employee careers remain merit-based. [4] Ideally, this law prohibits partisan politics from interfering with the executive branch’s complex web of agencies and departments. The recent shutdown messaging from the Trump administration challenged this status quo, breaking established norms about nonpartisanship in federal workplaces and potentially violating this 85-year-old statute. 

Coordinated partisan messaging campaigns began even before the shutdown officially started on October 1. Hours before the lapse in funding, a red pop-up reading “the radical left are going to shut down the government” appeared on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) website. [5] Once the shutdown began, similar messages proliferated across government websites. The next day, HUD altered the message to say, "The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.” [6] In the following days, multiple government agencies followed suit. The Department of Justice specifically called out the Democratic Party in a banner that said “Democrats have shut down the government.” [7] The Department of Agriculture’s webpage stated, “President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people,” but was unable to do so “due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown.” [8] The U.S. Department of the Treasury featured a banner blaming the left for shutting down the government “in the name of reckless spending and obstructionism.” [9] The U.S Department of Veterans Affairs was not spared, either: a weekly newsletter alleged Senate Democrats shut down the government “due to unrelated policy demands.” [10]

The weaponization of official channels extended beyond website messaging. Multiple agencies encouraged individual workers to include partisan rhetoric in their out-of-office email notifications. The Department of Labor suggested an out-of-office notification “template” provided by the Office of Management and Budget. The language included the phrase, “Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations.” [11] Similar “suggestions” to blame Democrats were provided to civil servants in the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Not all departments recommended these email templates; employees in the CDC, FDA, DOJ, and HUD did not get suggestions. The Department of Education (DOE) went a step further, changing out-of-office messages without the permission of individual employees, despite using first-person language in the new messages. [12] The email responses stated, “Thank you for contacting me…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 of appropriations, I am currently in furlough status.” In fact, one person changed their reply to be nonpartisan, only to find it reverted back to the message blaming Democrats. These email replies—some without the consent of civil servants—offer striking examples of how independent government agencies were vehicles for partisan messaging campaigns surrounding the shutdown. 

The Department of Education’s actions not only pushed the boundaries of the Hatch Act but also violated the First Amendment. The department’s disregard for employees’ rights to nonpartisanship was challenged in court. In the American Federation of Government Employees v. U.S. Department of Education, District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the DOE’s actions unconstitutional. [13] The federal judge wrote that “government employees…certainly do not sign up to be a billboard for any given administration’s partisan views.” [14] Judge Cooper explicitly noted that Congress had codified this principle in the Hatch Act. [15] This judgment offers persuasive precedent concerning the political activities of career civil servants; the First Amendment rights of government employees may not be infringed upon to push partisan messaging. Employees of agencies must be able to maintain neutrality. 

Despite the myriad website banners, automated email replies, and unconstitutional violations of free speech, scholars remain divided on whether the government shutdown messaging actually violated the Hatch Act. Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, asserts that government shutdown messaging merely violated the “spirit” of the law, rather than the Act itself. [16] This ambiguity lies in the specific language of the statute. The Hatch Act specifically states that employees cannot use their authority “for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.” [17] Richard Painter, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, affirms this view: the partisan messaging avoids directly violating the law by leaving out any mention of the 2026 elections, but still “push[ed] the boundaries.” [18] The Trump administration heavily relied on this textual interpretation of the provision. By focusing the shutdown rhetoric on the legislative dispute, government officials avoided violating the Hatch Act. For instance, HUD officials responded to criticism by explaining that their “Radical Left” banner left out any mention of specific parties or elections. [19] This may have been true for the HUD banner, but other agencies did contain explicit mentions of “Democrats,” casting doubt on the administration’s logic when applied to other agencies. 

Other experts argue that the partisan messaging did indeed violate the Hatch Act. For example, Kathleen Clark, a government ethics lawyer and professor at Washington University, asserts that agencies violated the Hatch Act’s prohibition on the use of federal funds to engage in partisan messaging. [20] By using taxpayer-funded resources to attack the opposition party, the administration arguably could be seen as affecting future elections, thus violating the act—even without naming a specific candidate. Government ethics expert Craig Holman concurred, stating that the Trump administration violated the Hatch Act with “reckless abandon.” [21] Michael Fallings, an attorney at an employment law firm, takes a more nuanced approach: the reference to Democrats themselves may not be a violation, but the blaming of Democrats on a government shutdown could be a prohibited political activity and therefore go against the Hatch Act. [22] The differing perspectives on the Hatch Act’s application during the government shutdown reveal dangerous loopholes that ignore the realities of modern political communication. 

The government shutdown may now be over, but it left in its wake a dangerous precedent. Without legal repercussions, ethics experts such as Kedric Payne suggest that the Trump administration's exploitation of nonpartisan government agencies could act as a “test run” for an election year. [23] Congress must amend the Hatch Act to close its loopholes by strengthening its provisions in the digital age and clarifying the use of partisan language in the definition of political activities. The preservation of a neutral civil service hinges on the legal viability of the Hatch Act. The federal bureaucracy exists to protect democracy—not as a weapon for partisan warfare.

Notes:

1. Anthony Zurcher and Natalie Sherman, “Is The US Government Shutdown Over, and Why Did It Happen?,” November 14, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrj1znp0pyo. 

2. Faith Wardwell, “Government agencies are blaming the shutdown on Democrats. Ethics experts say it could be against the law.,” Politico October 2, 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/shutdown-agencies-hatch-act-00590757. 

3. Wardwell, “Government Agencies Are Blaming the Shutdown on Democrats. Ethics Experts Say It Could Be against the Law.”

4. U.S. Office of Special Counsel, “Hatch Act Overview,” n.d., https://osc.gov/Services/pages/hatchact.aspx.

5. Wardwell, “Government Agencies Are Blaming the Shutdown on Democrats. Ethics Experts Say It Could Be against the Law.” 

6. Shannon Bond, Jenna McLaughlin, and Stephen Fowler, “Trump Administration Uses Taxpayer Dollars to Blame Democrats for Government Shutdown,” NPR, October 1, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5558393/government-shutdown-trump-ethics-hatch-act. 

7. Wardwell, “Government Agencies Are Blaming the Shutdown on Democrats. Ethics Experts Say It Could Be against the Law.” 

8. Wardwell, “Government Agencies Are Blaming the Shutdown on Democrats. Ethics Experts Say It Could Be against the Law.” 

9. Monica Alba et al., “Trump Administration Uses Government Websites and Email Messages to Pin the Shutdown on Democrats,” October 2, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-administration-government-webs ites-email-shutdown-democrats-rcna234705. 

10. Ali Swenson, “Federal Agencies’ Messaging Blames Democrats for Shutdown | AP News,” AP News, October 3, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-shutdown-blame-agencies-websites-hatch-act-ff5dab4e9a3a74a f0c94fd9b184d9311. 

11. Alba et al., “Trump Administration Uses Government Websites and Email Messages to Pin the Shutdown on Democrats.” 

12. Natasha Korecki et al., “Education Department Employees Surprised to Find Their Email Automatically Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown,” October 3, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/education-department-employees-email -automatically-changed-rcna235211. 

13. Cory Turner, “Judge Says Education Dept. Partisan Out-of-office Emails Violated First Amendment,” NPR, November 8, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/11/08/nx-s1-5602859/education-department-out-of-office-emails-rulin g.

14. American Federation of Government Employees v. U.S. Department of Education, Case No. 1:25-cv-03553-CRC (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025).

15. AFGE v. U.S. Dept. of Education, Case No. 1:25-cv-03553-CRC.

16. Bond, McLaughlin, and Fowler, “Trump Administration Uses Taxpayer Dollars to Blame Democrats for Government Shutdown.” 

17. 5 U.S.C. § 7323 

18. Wardwell, “Government Agencies Are Blaming the Shutdown on Democrats. Ethics Experts Say It Could Be against the Law.” 

19. Katherine Hapgood, “HUD blames ‘radical left’ for government shutdown,” Politico, September 30, 2025, https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/09/30/congress/hud-blames-radical-left-for-governm ent-shutdown-00587756. 

20. Ali Swenson, “Have Agencies Violated the Hatch Act by Using Democrat-blaming Language Online? | AP News,” AP News, October 4, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/federal-agencies-political-messages-hatch-act-shutdown-fe1266f760f 0032cb26d8086c691c76e. 

21. Justin Doubleday, “Agency Shutdown Messaging Draws Hatch Act, Antideficiency Act Challenges,” Federal News Network - Helping Feds Meet Their Mission., October 3, 2025, https://federalnewsnetwork.com/government-shutdown/2025/10/agency-shutdown-messaging-dr aws-hatch-act-antideficiency-act-challenges/.

22. Bond, McLaughlin, and Fowler, “Trump Administration Uses Taxpayer Dollars to Blame Democrats for Government Shutdown.” 

23. Doubleday, “Agency Shutdown Messaging Draws Hatch Act, Antideficiency Act Challenges.” 

Bibliography: 

5 U.S.C. § 7323 

Alba, Monica, Laura Strickler, Dareh Gregorian, and Amanda Terkel. “Trump Administration Uses Government Websites and Email Messages to Pin the Shutdown on Democrats,” October 2, 2025.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-administration-governme nt-websites-email-shutdown-democrats-rcna234705. 

American Federation of Government Employees v. U.S. Department of Education, Case No. 25-cv-3553 (CRC) (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025). 

Bond, Shannon, Jenna McLaughlin, and Stephen Fowler. “Trump Administration Uses Taxpayer Dollars to Blame Democrats for Government Shutdown.” NPR, October 1, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5558393/government-shutdown-trump-ethics-hatc h-act. 

Doubleday, Justin. “Agency Shutdown Messaging Draws Hatch Act, Antideficiency Act Challenges.” Federal News Network - Helping Feds Meet Their Mission., October 3, 2025. 

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/government-shutdown/2025/10/agency-shutdown-messa ging-draws-hatch-act-antideficiency-act-challenges/. 

Hapgood, Katherine. “HUD blames ‘radical left’ for government shutdown.” Politico, September 30, 2025. 

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/09/30/congress/hud-blames-radical-left-for-g overnment-shutdown-00587756. 

Korecki, Natasha, Amanda Terkel, Monica Alba, and Matt Dixon. “Education Department Employees Surprised to Find Their Email Automatically Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown,” October 3, 2025. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/education-department-employee s-email-automatically-changed-rcna235211. 

Swenson, Ali. “Federal Agencies’ Messaging Blames Democrats for Shutdown | AP News.” AP News, October 3, 2025. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-shutdown-blame-agencies-websites-hatch-act-ff5dab4e 9a3a74af0c94fd9b184d9311. 

Swenson, Ali. “Have Agencies Violated the Hatch Act by Using Democrat-blaming Language Online? | AP News.” AP News, October 4, 2025. 

https://apnews.com/article/federal-agencies-political-messages-hatch-act-shutdown-fe126 6f760f0032cb26d8086c691c76e. 

Turner, Cory. “Judge Says Education Dept. Partisan Out-of-office Emails Violated First Amendment.” NPR, November 8, 2025. 

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/08/nx-s1-5602859/education-department-out-of-office-emai ls-ruling. 

U.S. Office of Special Counsel. “A Guide to the Hatch Act for Federal Employees,” September 2014. https://osc.gov/Documents/Outreach%20and%20Training/Handouts/A%20Guide%20to% 20the%20Hatch%20Act%20for%20Federal%20Employees.pdf. 

U.S. Office of Special Counsel. “Hatch Act Overview,” n.d. https://osc.gov/Services/pages/hatchact.aspx.

Wardwell, Faith. “Government agencies are blaming the shutdown on Democrats. Ethics experts say it could be against the law.” Politico, October 2, 2025. 

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/shutdown-agencies-hatch-act-00590757. Zurcher, Anthony, and Natalie Sherman. “Is The US Government Shutdown Over, and Why Did It Happen?,” November 14, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrj1znp0pyo.