Furloughed employees of the Education Department got quite the surprise when they learned that the out-of-office email reply they left for the cause of the Schumer shutdown had reportedly been tweaked to properly blame the Democrats for the government closure.

Five employees, who apparently opted against using a non-partisan automatic out-of-office email response about the government shutdown, learned that their office email message had been adjusted to put the blame on Democrats, according to NBC News.

READ MORE: JD Vance Joins White House Press Briefing, Again Destroys Democrats' Schumer Shutdown Lies

MORE: New: Vice President Vance Roasts Dems Over Government Shutdown

The department initially sent templates of non-partisan out-of-office messages for employees to use. However, these employees, who all requested anonymity before sharing what their messages said, decided just to use the language in their messaging, and not the message as a whole.

One person told the outlet that they changed the messaging back to the non-partisan one, only to have it adjusted to blame Democrats. What the article doesn't explain, though, is exactly what their message was initially before they changed it back.

"None of us consented to this. And it's written in the first-person, as if I'm the one conveying this message, and I'm not. I don't agree with it. I don't think it's ethical or legal. I think it violates the Hatch Act," this person said.

Another person said that they were "incensed someone else's message was connected to their name," the outlet noted.

"Nobody follows the law anymore, so why does it matter? It seems like laws are dotted lines now, not solid lines. It seems there's no one to hold this administration accountable to laws," one of the employees said. As far as fearing any repercussions, they said: "Clearly, this wasn't done by me, it was done while I was in a furlough status, I think I'd be able to argue that point."

A third employee said, "I took the statement that they sent us earlier in the week to use. And I pasted it on top of that — basically has a standard out-of-office. They went in and manipulated my out-of-office reply. I guess they're now making us all guilty of violating the Hatch Act."

Again, what isn't clear with this third employee is what the employee's message said. All they told NBC News is that they pasted some message on top of the initial non-partisan one.

Attempts by RedState to get a response to the allegations from the Education employees resulted in the following email message. 

Thank you for contacting the press team. 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, we are currently in furlough status. We will respond to emails once government functions resume.

Given the out-of-office reply RedState received, it is unclear what the partisan messages were that these employees were referencing. 

The White House has been on top of messaging about putting the blame squarely on Democrats for the Schumer Shutdown, with Vice President JD Vance even making an appearance at the White House Press Briefing on Wednesday to point out that Democrats closed the government because they want to give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens, RedState reported.

This White House press release provides even more details.

The messaging mission has also extended to simple changes like adjusting the White House comments line to troll Democrats for the Schumer Shutdown.

Here's what those people calling the White House will hear.

"LMAO will be playing this on the Scott Jennings Radio Show today … well done @PressSec on the WH comment line," Salem Media Group's Scott Jennings wrote on X.

This is the way. Keep the blame where it belongs and stay ahead of Democrats' shenanigans.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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