The blame game is on at federal agencies, where political messages fault Democrats for the shutdown

Cliff Notes – Who can make the most noise!

• Federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, have engaged in partisan messaging, publicly blaming Senate Democrats for the current government shutdown.
• This messaging strategy marks a departure from the traditionally neutral communications typically expected from federal organisations.
• Army veteran Samuel Port and other citizens have expressed frustration over what they perceive as politicisation of government communications, indicating that such rhetoric undermines trust in federal services. Port described the situation as “blatant propaganda,” signalling a growing concern among the public.
• Legal experts are questioning the appropriateness of the partisan messages, suggesting they may violate the Hatch Act, which restricts political activities by federal employees. Democrats have called for an investigation into the matter, citing potential ethical breaches.

The blame game is on at federal agencies, where political messages fault Democrats for the shutdown.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and GOP leaders, from left, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., blame the government shutdown on Democrats during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

New York  — Army veteran Samuel Port couldn’t believe what he was reading in his latest weekly newsletter emailed from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

It blamed Senate Democrats for the federal shutdown, saying they were blocking a stopgap bill to fund the government “due to unrelated policy demands.” It then listed various disruptions to veterans’ resources.

In Port’s view, the finger-pointing was inappropriate from a federal agency and lacked the context that Republicans, too, could have taken steps to keep the government funded. He said it wore away any trust he had left in the VA to offer services without a political agenda.

“This blatant propaganda being spat out was astonishing,” said Port, a Virginia-based volunteer for the progressive advocacy organisation Common Defence. “Then the astonishment turned into just anger that we’re being politicised like this.”

Port is among a growing number of Americans whose routine interactions with the federal government this week have been met with partisan messaging. As a Senate deadlock keeps the federal government unfunded, with no end in sight, some traditionally apolitical federal agencies are using their official channels to spread a coordinated political message: It’s the Democrats’ fault.

The rhetoric, popping up in bright-red webpage banners, email autoreplies and social media posts, lays blame on the political party that is out of power in Washington when both sides are refusing to accommodate the other.

Democrats, who have minorities in both the U.S. Senate and House, have demanded that a set of expiring health insurance tax credits be extended before they sign on to any deal. Republicans, who need several Democratic votes in the Senate, said those negotiations should wait until after the funding measure passes.

Experts say the communication strategy from across the federal government reflects how aligned President Donald Trump’s entire administration has become in targeting his political opponents.

Far more partisan than the straightforward alerts that typically grace agency websites during shutdowns, the messages are in keeping with Trump’s pattern of requiring loyalty and obedience at all levels of government.

“There’s really been a consistent and sustained effort to try to pull the entire bureaucracy in sync with what the president wants,” said Don Kettl, a professor emeritus and former dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. “The big risk here is that it erodes the fundamental trust that people have in government’s ability to be impartial.”

Several government websites blame Democrats

Many internet users noticed the first political postings from government agencies on Tuesday, before the shutdown began. The website of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development displayed a message warning that “The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands.”

That afternoon, employees across the federal government reported receiving messages from their agencies noting Trump’s general opposition to a shutdown.

It’s difficult to know with certainty how many federal agencies and departments are promoting the partisan language across websites, social media accounts and email messages. Of the 15 executive departments in Trump’s Cabinet, at least 10 posted messages this week that blamed Democrats or the “radical left” for the shutdown on their official websites or social media accounts.

The website of the Small Business Administration placed its message in a red banner that took up the entire screen on a smartphone. It said actions from Senate Democrats are preventing the agency “from serving America’s 36 million small businesses.” Other websites, including that of the Food and Drug Administration, told visitors that mission-critical activities would continue “during the Democrat-led government shutdown.”

Several other federal agencies and departments maintained politically neutral messages, noting simply that there might be delays in services or updates because of the lapse in funding.

Employee out-of-office messages are changed

At the Department of Education, out-of-office email messages were reset Wednesday with language blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

“On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution,” the message said. “Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations.”

Some employees tried to change it to something nonpartisan only to see it reverted, according to an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The White House isn’t shying away from the politics, displaying a by-the-second ticker on its website adding up the length of time for which “Democrats Have Shut Down the Government.”

Concerned citizens calling the White House comment line on Wednesday also heard a political voicemail message. In the recording, press secretary Karoline Leavitt repeats Trump’s false claim that Democrats forced the government shutdown fight because they want to fund health care for illegal immigrants.

Could the messaging violate federal law?

Ethics watchdogs said the political messages from government agency websites and emails exceed the level of partisanship they have seen in the past from the civil service.

Multiple experts said the messages also violate a 1939 law called the Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities by federal employees. Kathleen Clark, a government ethics lawyer and law professor at Washington University, said they are “aimed at pursuing partisan political advantages” and therefore violate the law.

On Thursday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the Office of Special Counsel calling for an investigation into the messages for “apparent violations of the Hatch Act.”

Donald K. Sherman, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said he doesn’t think the messages violate the Hatch Act because they discuss the Democratic Party related to a policy difference rather than an election or a candidate. Still, he said, the postings might violate other ethics laws and are “wildly inappropriate.”

Veterans Affairs spokesman Pete Kasperowicz defended his agency’s email message, saying it was “100% factual.”

HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a Wednesday night interview with NewsNation that he’s not worried about the Hatch Act allegations against his agency. He called them a “distraction” to deflect from “irresponsible actions on the Hill” and how “Americans are being impacted greatly by this government shutdown.”

Asked about the HUD website banner Thursday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson said it shared “the objective truth.”

“There are 44 Democrats in the Senate — and by the way every Democrat in the House except one — who voted to shut the government down,” Johnson said in a press conference outside his office. “They are the ones that made that decision. The White House, the executive branch, take no pleasure in this.”

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