NEW YORK (AP) — Army veteran Samuel Port couldn’t believe he was reading in his latest weekly newsletter, emailed by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Bureau.
that Condemned Senate Democrats for shutting down the federal governmentsaid they are blocking the suspension bill to fund the government “due to unrelated policy demands.” They then listed various confusion about veteran resources.
Port’s view lacked the context that pointing was inappropriate from federal agencies and Republicans could also take action. To fund the government. He said he has used up the trust he left in the VA to provide services without a political agenda.
“It was amazing how this blatant propaganda was being spitted out,” said Port, a volunteer at Virginia-based Progressive Advocacy Organization Common Defense. “Then the surprise turned into just anger that we were politicized like this.”
Port is one of the number of Americans who have encountered partisan messaging this week with the daily interaction with the federal government. As the Senate deadlock does not leave the federal government unfunded and has no end, some traditionally non-political federal agencies use official channels to spread coordinated political messages. That’s the Democrats’ fault.
Rhetoric takes responsibility for a party without Washington’s power when it pops up in bright red webpage banners, emails to autoleeplee and social media posts, and both sides refuse to deal with others.
Democrats who have minorities in both the US Senate and House of Representatives require an extended set of expired health insurance tax credits before signing the contract. Republicans who need some democratic votes in the Senate said these negotiations should await until funding measures pass.
Experts say communication strategies from the entire federal government reflect how President Donald Trump’s entire administration has become targeting his political opponents.
Typically, it’s far more partisan than the simple alerts that decorate agency websites during closures, and the message follows Trump’s pattern of demanding loyalty and obedience at all levels of government.
“We are a great teacher at the University of Maryland,” said Don Kettle, professor emeritus and former dean of the Faculty of Public Policy. “The big risk here is eroding the fundamental trust people have in the government’s ability to be fair.”
Some government websites denounce Democrats
Many internet users noticed the first political post from the government agency on Tuesday. Before the shutdown began. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development website displayed the message “Unless the radical left wing shuts down government and gets a $1.5 trillion demand list, it will cause great pain for the American people.”
That afternoon, federal employees reported receiving messages from agencies that were paying attention to Trump’s general opposition to the closure.
It is difficult to know for sure how many federal agencies and departments promote partisan languages on their websites, social media accounts and email messages. Of the 15 enforcement units in Trump’s cabinet, at least 10 posted messages this week denounced the “radical left” of a Democrat or shutdown of official websites or social media accounts.
The SME admin website placed the message in a red banner and picked up the entire screen on its smartphone. The actions from Senate Democrats have said that the agency is “preventing services to 36 million small businesses in America.” Other websites, including that of the Food and Drug Administration, told visitors that mission-critical activities during “Democrat-led government shutdowns” continued.
It is important to note that several other federal agencies and departments maintain a politically neutral message, and that services and renewals may be delayed due to lapse in funds.
Employee dismissal message will be changed
The Department of Education has reset email messages outside the office on Wednesday, with language Democrats denounced the shutdown.
“On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed HR 5371. “Unfortunately, Democrat senators are blocking the passage of HR 5371 in the Senate.
Some employees tried to change it just to see it, just to try and see it, according to an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
The White House has not moved away from politics, and has been displaying tickers of seconds on a website that sums up the length of time “Democrats shut down government.”
The relevant citizens who call the White House comment line on Wednesday also heard political voicemail messages. Press Secretary Caroline Leavbit repeats the recording. Trump’s false claims Democrats forced a government shutdown fight because they wanted to fund health care for illegal immigrants.
Is messaging possible violation of federal law?
Ethics Watchdogs said political messages from agency websites and emails exceed the level of partisanship seen in the past by civil servants.
Several experts said the message also violated a 1939 law called the Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities by federal employees. Kathleen Clark, a government ethics lawyer and law professor at Washington University, said they “purpose to pursue partisan political advantages,” and therefore violated the law.
On Thursday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the office of special advisors seeking an investigation into a message of “an obvious violation of the Hatch Act.”
Donald K. Sherman, executive director of citizens for Washington’s responsibility and ethics, said he doesn’t think the message violates the Hatch Act as he discusses Democrats related to policy differences rather than elections and candidates. Still, he said the post could violate other ethical laws and was “very inappropriate.”
Veterans spokesman Pete Casperowitz defended the email message from his agency, saying it was “100% practically.”
HUD secretary Scott Turner said in an interview with News Nation on Wednesday night that he was not worried about the Hatch Act allegations against his agency. He called them a “distraction” to divert them from “irresponsible actions on the hill,” and called “Americans being heavily influenced by this government shutdown.”
Asked about the HUD website banner on Thursday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he shared “objective truth.”
“There are 44 Democrats in the Senate, and all Democrats in the House except one who voted to shut down the government,” Johnson told a news conference outside his office. “They made that decision. The White House, the executive branch, doesn’t give it any joy.”
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Associated Press authors Collin Binkley, Joey Cappelletti, Gary Fields of Washington, and video journalist Ty Oneil from Las Vegas contributed to the report.
