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A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment rights of furloughed Education Department employees by inserting partisan political language into their government email auto-replies during the ongoing government shutdown.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the out-of-office messages — which blamed “Democrat Senators” for the lapse in funding — amounted to the government forcing workers to spread partisan messaging, even while they were barred from working.
“The administration commandeered employees’ email accounts to broadcast partisan messages,” Cooper wrote in his decision.
The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed last month by members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, which argued that the altered messages turned nonpolitical federal workers into unwilling participants in partisan advocacy.
Partisan email language targeted Democrats
The email auto-replies, set by the department without employees’ consent, read in part:
“Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations.”
Judge Cooper ordered the Education Department to remove the partisan language from the accounts of all unionized employees covered by the lawsuit. If the department cannot limit the removal to union members alone, Cooper said, the court will require the agency to delete the political messaging from all affected employee email accounts.
When contacted for comment Friday, the Education Department sent an automated email response that echoed much of the same language at issue in the case, again blaming “Democrat Senators” for the shutdown.
Union, legal advocates hail ruling
AFGE President Everett Kelley called the decision “a clear victory for free speech and the rule of law.”
“This ruling makes clear that even this administration is not above the law,” Kelley said in a joint statement with Democracy Forward.
The Education Department has not said whether it will appeal the decision.
Shutdown continues to strain federal workforce
The case comes as the government shutdown — now in its sixth week — continues to affect hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Many Education Department staff remain furloughed, while others deemed “essential,” such as air traffic controllers, are working without pay.
The dispute highlights growing tension between federal agencies and their employees during the shutdown, as administration officials have sought to control public messaging around the impasse.
Judge Cooper’s decision may set a precedent for similar challenges across other agencies if partisan language was used in their communications.
