WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Democrats is pushing for an investigation into the Trump administration’s use of federal agency websites and emails to post partisan messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
In a letter obtained by NBC News, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and other Democrats ask the Government Accountability Office to open a probe into whether the political messages violated federal appropriations laws.
The lawmakers point specifically to a rule that prohibits the executive branch from using funds for “purely partisan” purposes. They are asking for more information from the GAO to see if several agencies violated laws that pertain to ethics and partisan political activity.
As NBC News previously reported, multiple agencies have posted messages on their official federal websites blaming Democrats and the “radical left” for the shutdown. Some also encouraged employees to post similar messages in their out-of-office replies. And five employees of the Education Department told NBC News that their automatic email replies were changed to partisan messages without their consent.
The letter points to a message posted two days before funding lapsed at the end of September on the Housing and Urban Development Department’s website as an example. “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 post read. “The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.”
Once the shutdown began, it was amended to: “The Radical Left shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”
A spokesperson for HUD defended the message to NBC News in October, saying it was carefully crafted not to blame a political party, but instead focused on an ideology.
The departments of Agriculture, Justice and the Treasury, as well as the Small Business Administration, used similar language on their websites, with some specifically naming Democrats. The Transportation Security Administration began playing videos at some airports nationwide that blamed the shutdown on Democrats as well.
The letter cites all of these examples as evidence and was signed by 11 other Democratic senators: Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland; Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut; Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey; Kirsten Gillibrand of New York; Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California; Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware; Tina Smith of Minnesota; and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
The group is also asking the GAO to make a legal determination about whether out-of-office messages that were changed without federal employees’ consent violate federal laws.
The American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of the Education Department employees, and a federal judge ruled Friday that the altered partisan language violated their First Amendment rights, deeming the move unconstitutional.
Senate Democrats note in their letter to the GAO that federal law bars agencies from using any appropriated funds “to generate publicity designed to influence Congress in supporting or opposing legislation or appropriations.”
“When agencies violate restrictions on the use of appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda, GAO usually finds that those actions also violate the Antideficiency Act,” the lawmakers write.
They are also asking the GAO to identify any and all officials who were responsible for the decision to post partisan messages related to the shutdown. Beyond that, the senators are seeking the costs associated with the messages, including personnel and technology expenses used at each applicable agency.
Lastly, the Democrats are asking the GAO whether the ongoing shutdown might impact its ability to decide whether and how any of the relevant regulations were violated.
The GAO is run by the comptroller of the United States, Gene Dodaro, who has served in that position since 2008.
