‘Those were not my words’: Out-of-office messages changed for furloughed feds
- States Newsroom
- Oct 4
- 3 min read
By Jory Heckman
Federal News Network/States Newsroom
Furloughed staff at the U.S. Department of Education say out-of-office messages for their government email accounts have been hijacked to include a message blaming the government shutdown on Senate Democrats.
The new out-of-office message says Senate Democrats, who did not vote for a GOP-backed stopgap spending bill that would have kept the government funded through Nov. 21, are responsible for the shutdown.
“Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations,” the new out-of-office message says. “Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently on furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.”
An Education Department employee told Federal News Network they discovered the updated message on Thursday.
“Those were not my words,” the employee said.
Madi Biedermann, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for communications, told Federal News Network in a statement that: “The email reminds those who reach out to Department of Education employees that we cannot respond because Senate Democrats are refusing to vote for a clean CR and fund the government. Where’s the lie?”
The Education Department has furloughed about 87% of staff, according to its contingency plan. Only a few hundred employees are excepted and working without pay. Most of them are working in the department’s Office of Federal Student Aid.
These messages at the Education Department are the latest example where the Trump administration has blamed Democrats for the government shutdown using official government channels. The Hatch Act prevents federal employees from acting in their official capacity to make political statements.
On Tuesday, many agencies sent an email to much of the federal workforce, stating that “President Trump opposes a government shutdown,” and “strongly supports” enactment of a House-passed continuing resolution that would keep agencies funded through Nov. 21.
“Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this continuing resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands,” the email states. “If Congressional Democrats maintain their current posture and refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution to keep the government funded before midnight on September 30, 2025, federal appropriated funding will lapse.”
The Department of Housing and Urban Development posted a notice on its website Tuesday morning, warning that the “Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands.”
“The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people,” the message on HUD’s website states.
Other agencies have posted similar messages. On Thursday, the Agriculture Department’s website added a banner that states that, “due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse.”
“President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people,” USDA’s website states
The Treasury Department added a similar message to its website on Thursday.
“The radical left has chosen to shut down the United States government in the name of reckless spending and obstructionism. As a result, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s websites will only be sporadically updated until this shutdown concludes,” the website states.
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