Judge Rules Education Department Violated Workers’ Free Speech by Blaming Democrats for Shutdown

A federal judge ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Education violated the First Amendment rights of some of its employees by sending automatic email replies that blamed Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, appointed by former President Barack Obama, found that the department had unconstitutionally compelled speech by altering the out-of-office messages of furloughed employees. The edited messages accused “Democrat Senators” of blocking a “clean continuing resolution” that would reopen the government.

“Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians,” Cooper wrote. “By commandeering its employees’ email accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation.”

The judge permanently barred the Trump administration from altering furloughed workers’ email messages to include political content, calling the practice a violation of free speech protections.

“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,” Cooper added.

The lawsuit was brought by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents more than 2,000 Department of Education workers. The decision marks another rebuke of the administration’s handling of the record-long government shutdown.

Credit: CNN Newsource

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