House Democrats accuse Trump of violating Hatch Act with government shutdown messages

WASHINGTON (CN) — House Democrats on Thursday pushed for an investigation into whether the Trump administration broke the law with messages posted on federal agency websites explicitly blaming them for the government shutdown.

As funding for government programs lapsed on Tuesday, both Democrats and Republicans rushed to assign responsibility for the breakdown in congressional budget negotiations and the resulting shutdown. The Trump administration has already leveraged its control over U.S. federal agencies to try to put the blame squarely at Democrats’ feet.

Since Wednesday morning, the websites of an array of government departments have been updated with banner messages alerting visitors to the ongoing shutdown. But on several agency homepages, the messages have taken a decidedly political tone.

“Democrats have shut down the government,” read the banner on the Justice Department website, followed by a notification that the page will not be regularly updated.

The Housing and Urban Development Department’s shutdown alert used even more inflammatory language. “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government,” it said. “HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”

Now, Democrats are suggesting that the White House may have violated the Hatch Act with these politically charged shutdown messages.

In a letter to the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel, California Representative Robert Garcia, top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, demanded that Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer launch an investigation into the Trump administration’s conduct, which he framed as a “blatant violation of the law.”

The Hatch Act restricts executive branch employees from participating in certain political activities, primarily with an eye toward campaigns. The measure blocks government workers from engaging in activity encouraging the success or failure of political parties or candidates for office.

In addition to the messages left on government websites, Garcia also pointed to public statements from HUD Secretary Scott Turner in which he accused “far-left Democrats” of holding the government “hostage.”

The lawmaker also contended that some of the alerts left on government websites were “deliberately crafted” to skirt around the Hatch Act’s restrictions on political speech, pointing out that HUD’s shutdown message refers to the “radical left” rather than calling out Democrats directly.

“However, the coded language of some of these messages does not legitimize or allow blatant political activity,” Garcia wrote. “Other messages abandoned any pretense and simply engaged in blatant partisan politics.”

The letter urged Greer to begin an immediate probe into the Trump administration’s conduct and any attempts by federal agencies to sidestep the Hatch Act. Garcia also requested a staff-level briefing on such an investigation.

“The administration’s statements make it abundantly clear that these messages are intended to circumvent the law, further highlighting the need for an immediate investigation,” wrote the California Democrat. “We believe that violations of the Hatch Act fit a pattern of abuse and politicization of executive branch agencies, which we will investigate fully. Violations of the law must be held accountable.”

In a statement, Garcia accused the Trump administration of “weaponizing” the government to deflect blame for this week’s shutdown.

“Republicans control the Senate, the House and the White House, and instead of taking responsibility for their shutdown or working in good faith with Democrats to reopen our government, this administration is likely breaking the law to promote their false, extreme partisan political agenda on official government sites.”

The lapse in federal funds began early Wednesday morning after Congress failed to reach a deal on a short-term spending bill aimed at keeping the lights on while lawmakers negotiate full-year spending bills.

Democrats, already furious with Republicans’ push to pass a stopgap budget without bipartisan negotiations, demanded that the GOP agree to package the short-term funding legislation with several policy provisions — including an extension on Affordable Care Act health care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.

Republicans, though, balked at their colleagues’ counteroffer, taking particular issue with their demand that the compromise bill repeal Medicaid restrictions inked in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” over the summer.

With the shutdown lurching through its second full day, Congress so far does not appear any closer to a deal to reopen the government.

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