Multiple agencies post partisan shutdown messages as DOE out-of-office replies are altered

Multiple federal agencies posted messages on official websites during the October 2025 shutdown that blamed Democrats for the funding lapse — a potential violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits using federal resources for partisan political activity. Department of Energy employee out-of-office email replies were reported to have been altered to include partisan framing; attribution of those changes to OMB Director Russell Vought remained unverified.