A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration infringed upon the First Amendment rights of employees within the Department of Education. The violation occurred when the department replaced employees' personalized out-of-office email notifications with partisan messages that attributed blame for a government shutdown to Democrats.
Court Decision
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued the decision on Friday, stating, "When government employees enter public service, they do not sign away their First Amendment rights, and they certainly do not sign up to be a billboard for any given administration's partisan views."
The lawsuit was initiated by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). Rachel Gittleman, president of AFGE Local 252, which represents many Education Department workers, issued a statement following the ruling.
Judge Cooper mandated that the department immediately reinstate personalized out-of-office email notices for union members. He further stipulated that if this was not feasible, the department must remove the partisan language from all employees' accounts, irrespective of union membership.
Background of the Email Policy
Prior to the government shutdown, Education Department employees were instructed to prepare out-of-office messages for their government email accounts for use during potential furloughs. The department provided a standard boilerplate message for this purpose, which read:
"We are unable to respond to your request due to a lapse in appropriations for the Department of Education. We will respond to your request when appropriations are enacted. Thank you."
On the first day of the shutdown, the department's deputy chief of staff for operations reportedly overrode these personal messages. They were replaced with an autoreply containing partisan language:
"Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume."
Multiple employees informed NPR that they did not author this message and were not notified that their custom out-of-office replies would be replaced.
Department's Previous Stance
At the time, Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications for the department, released a statement to NPR. Biedermann asserted, "The email reminds those who reach out to Department of Education employees that we cannot respond because Senate Democrats are refusing to vote for a clean CR and fund the government. Where's the lie?"
Judge's Further Comments and Hatch Act Context
In his decision, Judge Cooper criticized the department for "turning its own workforce into political spokespeople through their official email accounts," adding that "The Department may have added insult to injury, but it also overplayed its hand."
The department did not provide a comment to NPR regarding the ruling.
Judge Cooper cited the principle that "Nonpartisanship is the foundation of the federal civil-service system." This principle, he noted, is enshrined by Congress in the Hatch Act of 1939, a law designed to safeguard public employees from political pressure and ensure the nonpartisan administration of federal programs.