Federal judge orders Department of Education to stop blaming Democrats for shutdown in workers’ out-of-office emails
A federal judge sided on Friday with a union against the Trump administration in a lawsuit claiming partisan messages on out-of-office emails were unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown on the outgoing messages from the Department of Education violated the workers’ free speech rights.
‘Political officials are free to blame whomever they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot use rank-and-file civil servants as their unwilling spokespeople. The First Amendment stands in their way.’
The American Federation of Government Employees said in its lawsuit that the email messages forced employees to “involuntarily parrot the Trump administration’s talking points with emails sent out in their names.”
Cooper agreed in a 36-page opinion.
“Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians. But by commandeering its employees’ e-mail accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation,” Cooper wrote in the ruling.
Attorneys for both sides admitted that the case was unprecedented for the federal courts.
“Political officials are free to blame whomever they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot use rank-and-file civil servants as their unwilling spokespeople,” Cooper continued. “The First Amendment stands in their way. The Department’s conduct therefore must cease.”
Workers said that partisan text was added to their email response messages for the shutdown.
“Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations,” the text read.
RELATED: Federal judge shuts down Trump order for mass layoffs during government shutdown
Democracy Forward CEO Skye Perryman called the ruling a “major victory for the constitutional rights” of federal workers.
“No administration — of any party — can commandeer public servants’ identities and force them to push partisan propaganda,” Perryman added. “Today’s decision makes it clear that civil servants are not a political tool, and it reinforces a fundamental principle: Our federal workforce serves the public, not political agendas.”
Cooper was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
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