A screen turned up a message on the U.S. Forest Service website that some say violates the federal law trapping political activity
Kirk Siegler/NPR
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Kirk Siegler/NPR
There are legal fights against the Trump administration over language it posts on federal websites and in government emails blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
The controversy centers on language posted atop federal agency websites and in some automated email responses. They warn that public responses may be slow due to “the radical shutdown of the Democratic left.” Democrats and a union representing federal workers argue the language violates the 1939 Hatch Act, which prohibits executive branch employees from doing anything partisan on the job.
In a complaint filed with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, former Idaho Democratic state lawmaker Todd Achille argues the language is a prohibited political message on public infrastructure.
“I filed the complaint because we don’t do politics with public lands,” Achille told NPR. “The Forest Service exists to serve all Americans, regardless of political affiliation.”
It is unclear how quickly Achilles’ complaint will be addressed, however. An auto-response email from the special counsel Tuesday said the Hatch Act unit was off duty due to an appropriations spear.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment. But since the government shutdown last week, the agency has also experienced automated email responses with similar language. Emails out of the agency’s office and website banners also read: President Trump has made it clear that he wants to keep the government open and support those who keep the American people fed, fed and going.
On Friday, the American Federation of Government Employees, a federal workers union, sued the U.S. Department of Education over similar automated emails from that agency and sent a cease and desist letter.
Retired federal land managers say the language projects a chill on the work of civil servants, many of whom have already been targeted for layoffs or early retirement as part of the Trump administration’s attempts to radically shrink the federal bureaucracy.
Steve Ellis, former deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management during the Obama administration, said blatantly partisan political messages have no place on agency websites.
“In our career, we have never seen anything like this,” Ellis said in an email.
