Partisan shutdown emails violated Education Dept workers' rights, judge rules

• "Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians," the court's ruling said. "But by commandeering its employees' e-mail accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation."
• The American Federation of Government Employees fast-tracked the lawsuit, which the court granted while allowing the administration time to respond.

Zoom in: The ruling applies only to Education Department employees represented by the AFGE, but U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said he would extend the order to all affected agency employees if it's "technologically impossible" to remove the messages solely from union members' email accounts.

Flashback: Education Department employees were initially provided with an email template containing "factual, nonpartisan language," but those who followed the instructions lost access to their accounts after the messages were changed, according to the ruling.

• The Trump administration has used similar language on various government websites and platforms since the shutdown began. All of them have blamed Democratic lawmakers for the lapse in funding.

What they're saying: "The Trump-Vance administration's use of official government resources to spread partisan messaging using employees' email was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment, and the court's ruling makes clear that even this administration is not above the law," AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.

• The Education Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.