Several US federal agencies on Tuesday began blaming Democrats for an impending government shutdown at midnight in a move that experts say appears to violate the Hatch Act, which limits the political activities of government employees.
Some agencies reportedly sent emails to employees on Tuesday afternoon, while others posted public statements faulting Democrats, the “radical left,” and “radical liberals in Congress” for a potential government shutdown at midnight.
“Radical liberals in Congress” are attempting to shut down the government “to achieve their crazy fantasy of open borders, ‘transgender’ for everybody and men competing in women’s sports”, the US Department of Veterans Affairs said in a statement that outlined the services that would and would not be interrupted by a temporary closure.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) posted a statement and a pop-up on the landing page of their website claiming “the Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5tn wishlist of demands”.
The Trump administration wants to keep the government open, the HUD announcement added.
“Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this continuing resolution in the US Senate due to unrelated policy demands,” said an email sent to employees at HHS and obtained by the Guardian.
Any lapse in funding would be “forced by congressional Democrats”, the email said.
“Yes, this violates the Hatch Act,” said Kathleen Clark, professor of law at Washington University.
The email appeared to “impose on Democrats the blame for a government shutdown and resulting furloughs of agency employees”, she said. “In other words, this email has a partisan political goal. This email is both a violation of the Hatch Act and an abuse of government power.”
Yet Donald Trump “decapitated” the agency that would enforce Hatch Act violations and the administration “is acting lawlessly”, Clark said. “They are largely getting away with it.”
The wording in the HHS email was identical to emails reportedly sent to employees at the interior, commerce and labor departments, as well as the National Labor Relations Board, the National Archives, the Patent Office, and Federal Trade Commission.
“It’s highly unusual,” said Richard Painter, professor of law at University of Minnesota. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It suggests there’s a concerted lobbying effort across the government,” he said, using federal email and website systems – which are funded with taxpayer dollars.
That would also violate US law on lobbying with federal funds. If that’s true, “that’s not what we’re giving you the money for”, Painter said.
Some 750,000 employees at federal agencies would be furloughed in a shutdown, and some of them could be fired as the Trump administration continues to reduce the federal workforce.
Marty Makary, chief at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), addressed media reports of possible firings in a video message sent to staff on Sunday afternoon and obtained by the Guardian. The message appeared to confirm that some agencies are considering further staff reductions.
“I want you to know that would not apply to the FDA,” Makary said. “I was able to ensure an exemption because we are in the business of public safety.”
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