Amid Trump’s government shutdown, federal agencies have participated in a coordinated effort to blast partisan political messages from official government websites, accounts, and email correspondence
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and 21 Senate Democrats to demand that the Trump Administration immediately remove unprecedented partisan political messages from official government websites and other official communication accounts that violate federal law.
As early as September 30, 2025, in the lead-up to the ongoing Trump government shutdown, federal agencies began a seemingly coordinated effort to blast partisan political messages from official government websites, accounts, and email correspondence.
Federal law itself clearly restricts the political activities of federal agencies and civil servants using official government resources. Federal agencies have an obligation to operate and serve the American people without regard to politics or party affiliation.
In a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought, the senators call for the immediate removal of the illegal, partisan messages to comply with the law, “These activities are in blatant violation of Section 715 of P.L. 118-47, which prohibits federal funds from being used for propaganda purposes ‘designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress. These activities also appear to violate the Anti-Lobbying Act and the Hatch Act. We urge you to immediately remove these illegal, partisan messages to comply with the law and hold accountable those who have directed this behavior.”
The senators also note a pattern of abuse and politicization of executive branch agencies that includes official sites for HUD, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Additionally, civil servants at the SBA, Department of Labor, Department of Education, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) improperly set automatic reply email messages containing partisan political propaganda.
Blasting the Administration’s blatant attempts to mislead the American public and misuse American tax dollars, the senators also pointed out, “As you well know, these messages are misleading, given that Democrats have voted four times over the last week to fully fund the government only to be rebuffed by our Republican colleagues.”
“Spirited public debate has its place, but agency resources, including websites or emails, should not be used to send overtly political, and in this case, misleading messages, to the American people,” the senators concluded.
The letter is led by Merkley and Reed. Alongside Heinrich, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Angus King (I-Maine), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Read the full text of the letter here and below:
Director Vought,
As Congress continues to work on funding the federal government for Fiscal Year 2026, the White House and political appointees assigned to agencies within the executive branch have been engaged in a widespread campaign of partisan political activities. These activities are in blatant violation of Section 715 of P.L. 118-47, which prohibits federal funds from being used for propaganda purposes “designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress.” These activities also appear to violate the Anti-Lobbying Act and the Hatch Act. We urge you to immediately remove these illegal, partisan messages to comply with the law and hold accountable those who have directed this behavior.
As early as September 30, 2025, federal agencies began publicly posting various notices and other media from official accounts, on official websites, and in official email correspondence that violate Sec. 715’s prohibition on propaganda.
For example, beginning on September 30, 2025, the official website for the Department of Housing and Urban Development displayed a blatantly partisan political banner on their website claiming that the “Radical Left are going to … inflict massive pain on the American people…” On October 1, 2025, similar partisan political messages appeared on the websites for the Small Business Administration, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Agriculture, among others.
In addition to website updates, federal employees – including of the Small Business Administration, Department of Labor, Department of Education, and Department of Veterans Affairs – were reportedly directed to set automatic reply email messages containing partisan political propaganda which asserts that “Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations.” As you well know, these messages are misleading, given that Democrats have voted four times over the last week to fully fund the government only to be rebuffed by our Republican colleagues. But more important, they are clear violations of Section 715, which prohibits the use of federal funds by an agency to publicly support or oppose legislation pending before Congress.
Spirited public debate has its place, but agency resources, including websites or emails, should not be used to send overtly political, and in this case, misleading messages, to the American people.
Congress has enacted longstanding laws to ensure that partisan political activities and propaganda do not impede the government’s ability to serve all Americans. However, given the blatant, systematic, and repeated violations of Sec. 715 of P.L. 118-47, and likely the Anti-Lobbying and Hatch Acts, over the last week, you must immediately remove these partisan messages from all executive branch agency communications and websites.
Sincerely,
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