Trump administration pushes OOO emails blaming shutdown on Democrats
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Since the government shutdown began early Wednesday, out-of-office emails have emerged at several federal agencies blaming Democrats for the situation.
Why it matters: The Trump administration's encouragement for furloughed workers to use an automessage template may violate the Anti-Lobbying Act, which says "the use of appropriated funds for certain lobbying activities designed to support or defeat legislation pending before Congress" is prohibited, per Public Citizen, a national consumer advocacy group.
- The group has filed several complaints with the Office of Special Counsel over posts that have appeared on several federal agency websites blaming Democrats for the shutdown —which Public Citizen alleges violate the Hatch Act, which governs how federal employees can weigh in on political activities.
- The emails may be a "lower-level violation" of the Hatch Act, said Craig Holman, Public Citizen's government affairs lobbyist, in a phone interview, but his initial focus is on the website posts.
State of play: While Democrats as well as Republicans have sought to blame the other side for the shutdown impasse, the Trump administration appears to be ratcheting up the pressure by using federal agencies to deliver its message, which is why Public Citizen is taking issue.
Driving the news: Agencies including the Department of Labor and HHS's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration have reportedly been encouraging workers to use a template that thanks the emailer for contacting them and notes that the House passed a bill on Sept. 19 to keep the government funded through Nov. 20.
- "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," it adds, according to NBC News, HuffPost and other reports.
- A similar autoreply template has reportedly been circulated by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
- "I am out of office for the foreseeable future because Senate Democrats voted to block a clean federal funding bill (H.R. 5371) leading to a government shutdown that is preventing the ... SBA from serving America's 36 million small businesses," it says.
What they're saying: SBA spokesperson Caitlin O'Dea said the administration's message "speaks for itself and is rooted in fact."
- She added: "Senate Democrats voted against a clean funding bill (H.R. 5371), leading to a shutdown that has frozen SBA's small business loan programs — which will prevent an estimated 320 small businesses from accessing $170 million in SBA-guaranteed funding every day that the shutdown continues."
Zoom in: When Axios contacted the White House for comment on the templates, it received the autoreply: "Due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays. ...
- "As you await a response, please remember this could have been avoided if the Democrats voted for the clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open."
- Representatives for the White House, HHS, Department of Labor, the Office of Special Counsel and the Government Accountability Office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Go deeper: Trump admin uses government sites to blame Democrats for shutdown
