Furloughed Department of Education workers found their out-of-office email messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown automatically sent without their consent. Sources described the action as "compelled speech" and potentially damaging to their reputations. Similar partisan messaging blaming Democrats for the shutdown has appeared on agency webpages and in suggested language for other federal employees, raising concerns about Hatch Act violations and political coercion using taxpayer resources.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.