Raskin Statement on Trump Administration’s Use of Federal Departments and Agencies for Propaganda Purposes; Possible Violations of the Hatch Act

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08) released the following statement:

"I have been contacted by numerous constituents outraged by the fact that the Trump Administration is now sending out blatantly partisan messages, both on official Websites and through emails from federal agencies. These official agency messages blame 'Senate Democrats' and the 'Radical Left' for the government shutdown. Taxpayer-funded service agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Small Business Administration are now being turned into MAGA propaganda organs.

"This looks like a naked violation of the Hatch Act, which forbids partisan activity in the federal workplace. If any agency head under any previous Administration ever used official letterhead to promote their political views, they would have been instantly fired, if not prosecuted. There is a reason for this. Taxpayers cannot be forced to be a captive audience for propaganda against the Administration's opponents every time they inquire about their benefits and rights. Nor may an Administration grant itself a campaign contribution of free nationwide political ads by hijacking agency service messages. Surely the Trump Administration would be firing any Executive Branch employee today who set up an official Website message blaming Trump and Republicans for shutting down the government.

"One of the main distinctions between our country and Putin's Russia, Xi's China or Kim Jong-un's North Korea is that government services and communications channels may not be perverted into instruments of partisan propaganda. If Trump and Stephen Miller get away with this, there is no limit to the kinds of partisan polemics that can be passed off as 'government speech.'

"I have also received reports that the U.S. Department of Education-after their employees have left neutral and nonpartisan 'out-of-office' messages for correspondence during the shutdown-has now replaced these out-of-office messages without the employees' consent with a completely political diatribe purportedly authored by that employee: '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.'" This is a form of identity theft. It fraudulently depicts federal workers as personally disseminating a political message that they have never approved, do not want to be associated with and may be illegal.

"President Trump is free to spout any partisan nonsense he wants from his giant bully pulpit. But he may not coerce federal employees into joining his choir. I am calling on every agency and Department head implicated in these forms of Orwellian miscommunication to remove them immediately. This is an intolerable abuse of power."

Permalink: https://raskin.house.gov/2025/10/raskin-statement-on-trump-administration-s-politicization-of-federal-civil-service-possible-violations-of-the-hatch-act