"Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations, the suggested message read. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume. Departments of Justice employees told ABC News they received message templates with similar language. In addition, some furloughed federal employees at the Department of Education said their out-of-office replies were automatically reset to blame Democrats."
"Some federal departments did not send out any out-of-office email guidance, ABC News reported. When ABC News emailed the White House press office Wednesday, an automatic response read: Due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays as you await a response, please remember this could have been avoided if the Democrats voted for the clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open."
The Trump administration directed federal employees to configure out-of-office email messages assigning blame to Democratic Senators for a government shutdown. An email template provided to furloughed Labor Department staff stated that Democratic Senators blocking H.R. 5371 caused a lapse in appropriations and instructed employees to note they were in furlough status and would respond when government functions resume. Departments of Justice employees received similar templates, and some Department of Education employees reported automatic resets of their out-of-office replies to blame Democrats. Several federal workers raised concerns about potential Hatch Act violations, prompting a request for an Office of Special Counsel investigation. The White House press office auto-response blamed Democrats and urged support for a clean Continuing Resolution.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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