WASHINGTON, D.C. – We are now on day nine of the government shutdown. It’s become a tense partisan messaging showdown with some federal departments and agencies are directly blaming the Democrats for the shutdown. Experts say it’s not unusual for partisan finger pointing, but using government department websites has some questioning if it violates certain laws.
If you were to open the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s webpage, a bright red banner would read in part: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government.” A similar banner posted on the State Department also reads “Due to the Democrat-led shutdown, website updates will be limited until full operations resume.”
A handful of other US departments will have similar messaging on their sites. Experts said departments and agencies notifying the public about the shutdown is normal but some said the administration’s use of federal agencies to deliver that message blaming Democrats, raises ethical and legal concerns.
Some question if it violates the Anti-Lobbying Act, which prohibits the “use of appropriated government funds for lobbying activities designed to support or defeat legislation pending before congress”. Others said it could violate the Hatch Act, which limits certain political activities of federal employees.
“The Hatch Act was developed in the 1930s as way from the government using its employees either through favors or through intimidation to influence elections,” said Dr. Todd Belt, professor and director of the graduate program on political management with George Washington University. “Some people believe it could be a violation of the Hatch Act but it’s really unclear because it’s geared towards electioneering that is geared towards electoral campaigns and specific elections, so nobody is specifically named in this. Since this has to do more with advocacy than electoral campaigns, I’m not sure if they have enough ground on this to stand on.”
When we reached out to the White House for comment on this specifically regarding the Hatch Act and we initially received an automatic reply that press inquiries might have some delays due to “staff shortages resulting from the Democrat shutdown.” They also add “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.”
Soon after, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded: “It’s an objective fact that Democrats are responsible for the government shutdown, the Trump administration is simply sharing the truth with the American people”.
The White House also provided us a list of examples from former President Joe Biden’s administration and their messaging blaming Republicans for certain things.
