Education Department's out-of-office messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown are unconstitutional, judge rules

A federal judge ruled Friday that the partisan language added to out-of-office email messages of furloughed Education Department employees violates their First Amendment rights.

The ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed last month against the Trump administration by members of the American Federation of Government Employees over the alteration of employees’ emails without their consent.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on Friday characterized the message, which said the contacted employee was furloughed due to “Democrat Senators” blocking a Republican funding bill, as “commandeering…employees’ email accounts to broadcast partisan messages.”

The ruling applies only to Education Department employees who are members of the union that brought the lawsuit, though Cooper specified that the court will order the department to remove the messaging from all affected employees’ email accounts if it is technologically impossible to “immediately remove partisan messaging” from only AFGE members’ accounts.

• Add to Google

Schumer puts forward new plan to end government shutdown

01:58

The altered email messages in full read: “The Department employee you have contacted is currently in furlough status. 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 employee you have contacted will respond to emails once government functions resume.”

When reached for comment on the judge's ruling, the Education Department sent an automated reply thanking the recipient for contacting the media department while using language similar to the out-of-office messages, saying "Democrat Senators" were blocking the passage of the House-passed stopgap bill.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

"Due to the lapse in appropriations, we are currently in furlough status. We will respond to emails once government functions resume," the rest of the email read.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

AFGE president Everett Kelley said in a news release from Democracy Forward, a legal group that co-represented the union in the suit, that the ruling “makes clear that even this administration is not above the law.”

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed since the government shutdown started Oct. 1. Many others, including air traffic controllers, are required to work without pay during the funding lapse.