A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration breached the First Amendment by dispatching automated emails blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
In a ruling, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper stated that the Department of Education (DOE) cannot compel federal employees to participate in partisan messaging.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), supported by the Democracy Advancement and Civil Litigation Group, previously issued a cease-and-desist letter and filed a lawsuit against the DOE concerning political remarks made in response to employee communications.
“Nonpartisanship is fundamental to the federal civil service. It ensures that civil servants serve the public, not political interests,” Cooper noted in his memo. “By taking control of employees’ email accounts and sending out partisan messages, the department undermines this principle.”
“Political figures can blame whom they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot utilize rank-and-file public servants as unwilling spokespersons,” he added. “The First Amendment protects against that. Thus, the department’s actions must cease.”
The ruling indicated that the DOE “waited until the furloughed employees lost access to email and then altered their out-of-office replies to include additional partisan content,” effectively turning employees into political representatives via their official email accounts.
“While the department may have added insult to injury, it also overstepped,” Cooper remarked.
Additionally, Cooper ordered the DOE to revert the automated email messages to their original versions as created by department employees.
Kedrick Payne, deputy director and senior director of ethics at the Election Legal Center, commended Cooper’s decision, emphasizing that the fight will continue “to guarantee that public servants remain nonpartisan.”
“The Hatch Act and related laws clearly stipulate that there’s no place for partisan politics among public servants,” Payne stated.
The Hill has contacted the DOE for a response. The automated message had accused Senate Democrats of obstructing the passage of a budget resolution to fund the government.
“Due to budget lapses, you are currently furloughed,” the automated email stated. “We will reply via email as soon as government operations resume.”
