Trump administration uses government websites and email messages to pin the shutdown on Democrats

[Thiệu Ngô]

Some federal workers received suggested templates of out-of-office emails saying they were furloughed because "Democrat Senators are blocking passage" of a funding bill.

By Monica Alba, Laura Strickler, Dareh Gregorian and Amanda Terkel

WASHINGTON — A number of federal agencies are putting out messages blaming Democratic senators for the current government shutdown, in a sharp break from how departments have handled shutdowns in the past. Traditionally, agencies provide information on the status of the funding lapse and what services won’t be available, but stay away from partisan talking points.

Some civil servants, who are supposed to be nonpartisan, are being encouraged to push out the messages as well.

The Department of Labor sent a message to all employees Wednesday morning, suggesting a potential out-of-office notification. It said the "template language" was provided by the Office of Management and Budget:

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.

The department offered a similar message about employees who must continue working throughout the shutdown. A civil servant at the Department of Health and Human Services said their boss suggested they put up an out-of-office message that had this line: “Unfortunately, Democratic Senators are blocking its passage in the Senate, which has led to a lapse in appropriations.”

Not all agencies are sending out this guidance. Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Justice Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development said they did not get suggestions like the one given to employees at the Department of Labor.

We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now or someone who is feeling the effects of shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or reach out to us here.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services referred NBC News to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not return a request for comment. The Department of Labor also did not respond.

“What this administration is doing is unprecedented, illegal and flat-out wrong,” said Max Stier, CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. “I’ve been deeply engaged in our federal government for over 30 years and there is nothing that has come close. Federal employees who are furloughed are still subject to the same legal and ethics rules, and there is no excuse for this behavior. The administration should not be using federal employees or federal resources to wage a political battle.”

Congress failed to reach a funding agreement late Tuesday night, leading to a shutdown that is expected to last at least through the week.

While Republicans have full control of the federal government, including the White House and majorities of both chambers of Congress, they don’t have the 60 votes needed to end debate on legislation in the Senate and move bills forward without Democratic votes. Democrats want to include provisions to extend health care funding, as well as assurances that President Donald Trump won’t keep unilaterally withholding spending directed by Congress.

Federal employees will not be paid during the shutdown — even if they’re deemed essential to operations and have to continue working. Approximately 750,000 employees will be furloughed, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Members of Congress and President Donald Trump will continue to receive paychecks.

The Trump administration’s messaging on the shutdown extends to federal government websites as well. Visitors to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s site are greeted with a large red banner that reads: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”

In case visitors missed the message, a large pop-up box then appears: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”

“Due to the Democrat-led shutdown, website updates will be limited until full operations resume,” reads the message on the State Department’s site.

The undersecretary for management at the State Department also sent a letter criticizing Democrats to all employees on Tuesday: “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.”

Both the Forest Service and the Treasury Department also now have messages up on at the top of their websites blaming Democrats and the left for the shutdown.

And VetResources, which the Department of Veterans Affairs bills as “a weekly newsletter for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors,” sent an email to subscribers Wednesday blaming Democrats for any gap in resources.

“President Trump opposes a lapse in appropriations, and on September 19, the House of Representatives passed, with the Trump Administration’s support, a clean continuing resolution to fund the government through November 21,” the newsletter reads. “Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands. During the current lapse in funding, the vast majority of VA benefits and services will continue uninterrupted, but the government shutdown is not without consequences to VA.”

The messages have already raised questions about their ethics and legality.

A former senior counsel at the Housing Department told NBC News that the agency’s message on its website likely violates the federal code of conduct for employees.

“There’s no universe where that is acceptable or advisable under the code of conduct,” said Donald Sherman, who’s now executive director of the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

The code says “employees shall act impartially” and without preferential treatment, he said. “This agency is meant to service every American, whether they’re right or left or have no political views whatsoever,” and now the first thing people see on the site is about “political ideology.”

The group Public Citizen filed a complaint against HUD, saying the message on its website violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their official capacities to affect or interfere with elections.

A HUD spokesperson defended the site on Tuesday, telling NBC News, “The Far Left is barreling our country toward a shut down, which will hurt all Americans. At HUD, we are working to keep critical services online and support our most vulnerable. Why is the media more focused on a banner than reporting on the impact of a shutdown on the American people?”

A HUD official also pushed back on Hatch Act questions, saying the message was carefully worded so as not to name a specific party or politician, but rather an ideology.

The watchdog group Democracy Defenders Fund on Wednesday sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office urging an investigation into HUD.

“The purpose of HUD’s website is to help Americans find affordable housing and protect their rights. It is not a campaign website or a tool to advance a political party’s agenda,” said Virginia Canter, the group’s ethics and anticorruption chief counsel and director. “The Trump administration, however, turned a government agency website into a partisan billboard. It’s an abuse of power, a waste of taxpayer money, and appears to be a flat-out violation of the law.”