Feds Forced to Blame Democrats in Shutdown Auto-Replies
▼ Summary
– DOE employees discovered their out-of-office email responses were altered without consent to include partisan language blaming Senate Democrats for the government shutdown.
– The unauthorized changes occurred on the first day of the shutdown and were first reported by journalist Marisa Kabas on Bluesky.
– Employees who attempted to revert their messages to neutral language found them repeatedly changed back to the partisan version, according to multiple sources.
– Some federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration and Department of Labor, provided employees with suggested out-of-office language that blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
– The original neutral language suggested by DOE human resources simply explained the temporary shutdown due to lapsed appropriations without assigning blame.
During the initial hours of the recent federal government shutdown, a surprising development unfolded at the Department of Education. Staff members discovered their pre-set out-of-office email replies had been altered without their knowledge or consent, shifting from neutral notifications to messages containing explicitly partisan language. The revised text placed blame for the funding lapse squarely on Senate Democrats, a change that left many employees feeling unsettled and concerned.
Journalist Marisa Kabas first brought the issue to public attention through a post on the social platform Bluesky. According to multiple sources who spoke with reporters, the situation created significant unease within the department. One DOE employee, who requested anonymity due to lacking authorization for press comments, described the unauthorized editing of their automatic response as “disturbing.” Several staff members reported manually reverting their messages to the original neutral wording, only to find them changed back to the politicized version later.
As federal agencies prepared for the potential shutdown, many provided their employees with suggested language for out-of-office replies. While some departments recommended straightforward messages explaining the temporary suspension of government services, others took a different approach. Employees at both the Small Business Administration and the Department of Labor received guidance that included language attributing the shutdown to Democratic lawmakers, according to internal sources and documentation reviewed by media outlets.
Before the shutdown commenced, the Department of Education’s human resources department had distributed standard, non-partisan wording for staff to use in their automatic responses. The original suggested text read: “Thank you for your email. There is a temporary shutdown of the US government due to a lapse in appropriations. I will respond to your message as soon as possible after the temporary shutdown ends. Please visit Ed.gov for the latest information on the Department’s operational status.” Many employees had adopted this professional and factual language for their email systems.
The unauthorized replacement message presented a stark contrast to the original neutral communication. It stated: “Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed HR 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of HR 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.” This revised text specifically identified political actors and assigned responsibility for the government closure in a manner that departed from standard nonpartisan government communications.
(Source: Wired)
