Federal court backs union on feds’ partisan emails

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration violated employees’ First Amendment rights by allegedly hijacking their email accounts to send automated partisan messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.

Following a lawsuit by the American Federation of Government Employees, represented by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the Trump administration “infringed upon its employees’ First Amendment rights.”

The evidence is “undisputed that the Department implemented the Revised Message without its employees’ consent,” and blamed Democrats, the ruling stated.

“Political officials are free to blame whomever they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot use rank-and-file civil servants as their unwilling spokespeople,” the ruling stated.

Since Oct 1, the U.S. government has been shut down after Congress failed to pass a bill funding government services.

“Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians,” the ruling said. “But by commandeering its employees’ e-mail accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation.”

If a government employee enters into 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 ruling added.

The president of AFGE and the CEO of Democracy Forward, the organizations leading the complaint, reacted to the court’s decision.

“The Trump-Vance administration’s use of official government resources to spread partisan messaging using employees’ email was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment, and the court’s ruling makes clear that even this administration is not above the law,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement following the ruling.

“This ruling is a major victory for the constitutional rights of the people who serve our country,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement. “No administration – of any party – can commandeer public servants’ identities and force them to push partisan propaganda.”

When The Center Square reached out to the Education Department for a comment, two different automatic emails were sent back:

“The Department employee you have contacted is currently in furlough status. 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. The employee you have contacted will respond to emails once government functions resume,” the press email stated.

According to the initial lawsuit, employees at the department were not told or given consent that the automatic emails had been changed.

The other email that The Center Square received was from the department’s deputy press secretary Ellen Keast. It stated, “Thank you for your email. There is a temporary shutdown of the U.S. government due to a lapse in appropriations. I will respond to your message if it is allowable as an excepted activity or as soon as possible after the temporary shutdown ends. Please visit ED.gov for the latest information on the Department’s operational status.”

When The Center Square reported on the lawsuit, Madi Biedermann, the department’s deputy assistant secretary for communications, said, “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?”