loading . . . Federal employees told Democrats to blame for shutdown in ‘highly inappropriate’ email Federal employees at multiple agencies received emails Tuesday blaming congressional Democrats for a potential government shutdown “forced” by the party, an unusual use of government communications that typically steer clear of political comments.
“President Trump opposes a government shutdown and strongly supports enactment of H.R 5371,” the administration stated in identical emails sent by at least four agencies, referencing the bill name of the continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government through Nov. 22.
“Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this continuing resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands. If Congressional Democrats maintain their current posture and refuse to pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded before midnight on September 30, 2025, federal appropriated funding will lapse,” the emails obtained by The Hill said.
The emails go on to say that each agency has a plan in place in the event of “any lapse in appropriations by Congressional Democrats.”
A similar email sent through the Department of Homeland Security also references the CR, saying “Congressional Democrats are blocking its passage.”
Ethics experts blasted the messages as inappropriate but said they stopped short of violating ethics laws.
Donald Sherman, executive director or Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called the emails “highly inappropriate, highly irregular, but not illegal.”
“This is too cute by half and wouldn’t clear legal vetting in a normal administration,” Sherman told The Hill.
“This seems like a carefully worded email to try and avoid violating a number of different laws, including the Hatch Act, including the Anti-Lobbying Act.”
Federal employees, including political appointees, are barred through the Hatch Act from electioneering at work, including in their communications with other staff.
The Anti-Lobbying Act bars the use of federal funds for “communications intended or designed to influence Members of Congress.”
Sherman said the emails dance around — but do not cross — those lines.
“It doesn’t talk about the election of a party or a candidate. It talks about policy distinctions. And also, it does not suggest that anyone call their members of Congress or something like that. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a communication like this,” he said.
“It is not typically how government agencies communicate with their staff, and especially sending it staffwide raises concerns about partiality of the performance of people’s government duties.”
A spokesperson for the Interior Department said the message came “under guidance” from the White House Office of Management and Budget.
“This message was issued under the guidance of the Office of Management and Budget and in alignment with their protocols,” said an unsigned email from the department’s press inbox in response to questions from The Hill.
The Office of Management and Budget and the White House did not respond to request for comment.
Congressional Democrats have blasted the White House for making light of a shutdown, excluding their priorities, and using the shutdown as a way to fire additional federal workers.
They’ve argued the government funding bill should be a vehicle for lowering health care costs in the wake of other GOP measures gutting access to health care.
“There are still large differences between us,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters outside the White House on Monday night.
“Their bill has not one iota of Democratic input. That is never how we’ve done this before,” Schumer continued. “It’s up to the Republicans whether they want a shutdown or not.”
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which also sent the email, said the message “had to be sent.”
“It is unfortunate that this message had to be sent because of Congressional Democrats holding the government hostage,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told The Hill.
“The reality is that the Trump Administration wants to keep the government open so HHS can continue to provide critical services to safeguard the public’s health and well-being. By contrast, Congressional Democrats are threatening a shutdown that would impact care to millions of Americans.”
An HHS employee who spoke to the Hill said their agency had received no information about operations during a shutdown aside from that email.
The peace corps and the Treasury Department, which also sent the email to their employees, did not respond to request for comment.
Kedric Payne, who leads the ethics program at Campaign Legal Center, said it was unusual to see government emails send “such overtly partisan rhetoric.”
Payne said during prior government shutdowns, “we would never send something that would be this partisan in nature, because it’s just not necessary, and it doesn’t seem appropriate.”
Ethics experts have often vented frustration that the Trump administration flouts norms that have been followed by prior administrations.
Earlier Tuesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development included a banner on its website blaming “the radical left” for the shutdown.
“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,” read a pop-up posted on the agency’s site. “The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.”
Payne said the message was highly unusual.
“I have never seen anything like it, because it’s just an unsaid rule that you would not post anything on a website that is that partisan,” he said.
The public, he said, wants to know “that they don’t have an agency that is trying to divide people on partisan grounds.”
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5530094-federal-emails-shutdown-democrats?aa&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky
