WASHINGTON, D.C.: As the deadline for the first U.S. government shutdown in almost seven years approaches, the Trump administration has been using official government communications and websites to harshly blame Democrats and push the President’s policies. This has raised concerns about possible violations of the federal Hatch Act.
The Hatch Act is an 80-year-old law that says that U.S. federal workers can’t do political activities while they’re on the job or in the office.
Messaging that favors one party on public websites and in emails
On Tuesday, the website for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had the most obvious example of the administration’s message approach. A big pop-up warning cautioned visitors that
“The Radical Left is going to close the government and hurt a lot of Americans if they don’t get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands.”
The statement ended with, “The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.”
When asked about the website banner’s strong political bias, HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett defended it by saying, “The Far Left is pushing our country toward a shutdown, which will hurt all Americans.” HUD officials pushed back against charges that the message broke the Hatch Act by saying that it didn’t mention a politician, an election, or a party by name, but rather an ideology and an official process.
Partisan messages like this were issued directly to federal workers all around the country. Employees in the Departments of Interior, Food and Drug Administration, and Justice sent texts saying that President Trump was against a shutdown and in favor of HR 5371, the GOP-backed plan to keep the government running until November 21. The messages then clearly blamed the other side: “Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking the resolution in the Senate because of policy demands that have nothing to do with the resolution.”
The Risk of Permanent Layoffs
The administration has made the unusual threat of permanent layoffs, which is a big change from previous government shutdowns. In the past, non-essential federal workers were only put on leave and then returned to work when Congress enacted a spending package.
But this week, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent out a memo telling agencies to do even more. The OMB told agencies to think about a reduction in force (RIF), which would not only lay off workers but also get rid of their jobs completely, for federal programs that would lose funding and are:
Not sponsored in any other way.
“Not in line with the President’s goals.”
This new harsh order is expected to cause a big change in the federal workforce and is seen as a way to put further pressure on Congressional Democrats to pass the spending resolution.
Some agencies, like the Securities and Exchange Commission, took a more traditional approach by releasing merely informational announcements about preparations for operational changes “at the same time as the rest of the federal government.”