Government Workers' Out-of-Office Emails Altered to Blame Democrats for Shutdown

Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown In a bizarre incident that has sparked controversy, government workers at the Department of Education (DOE) reported that their automatic out-of-office email responses were altered to contain partisan language without their consent. The changes, which occurred on the first day of the US government shutdown, blamed Senate Democrats for the entire shutdown. According to multiple sources, including a DOE employee who wished to remain anonymous, the automatic reply was initially set to inform recipients that employees would be unable to respond until after the shutdown. However, hours later, many employees discovered that their response message had been altered to include partisan language. The revised message read: "Due to the Senate Democrats' refusal to negotiate a budget, our office is currently unavailable." "It's disturbing," said the anonymous DOE employee. "We're just trying to do our jobs and provide essential services to the public. We shouldn't be politicized like this." The changes were first reported on social media platform Bluesky by journalist Marisa Kabas. It remains unclear who made the alterations, but multiple sources confirm that employees changed their responses back to more neutral language only to have it altered again to include partisan language. The incident has sparked concerns about government workers being politicized and the potential impact on public perception of the shutdown. "This is a clear example of how politics can interfere with the work of civil servants," said a spokesperson for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). "We urge lawmakers to focus on finding a solution to the shutdown rather than using it as an opportunity to score partisan points." Background context shows that government agencies had sent out guidance to employees regarding suggested language for their out-of-office messages. While some agencies offered neutral language, others provided more explicit instructions on how to frame the message. The current status of the incident is unclear, but sources indicate that employees are working to restore their original responses and prevent further changes. The next developments in this story will likely depend on the outcome of negotiations between lawmakers to end the shutdown. As the government shutdown enters its second week, this incident serves as a reminder of the complexities and challenges involved in resolving the impasse. While some lawmakers continue to blame each other for the shutdown, government workers are caught in the middle, trying to do their jobs despite the partisan rhetoric surrounding them. *Reporting by Wired.*