Democratic Rep Freaks Out After Trump Admin Auto-Emails Reportedly Blame Shutdown On Democrats
Democratic Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott accused Trump administration officials of violating federal law Wednesday by setting automatic email replies that blamed the government shutdown on Democrats.
Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, urged Republicans to hold a hearing on whether the messages breach the Hatch Act, which bars political activity by federal employees. He said the out-of-office emails are “in apparent violation of the Hatch Act and other statutes” and called for “hearings on these acts as soon as possible” in a letter obtained by ABC News.
Scott’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for clarification on how the emails might constitute a Hatch Act violation.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had encouraged employees at the Departments of Labor, Justice and Education to set automatic replies blaming “Democrat senators” for the shutdown, the outlet reported. Several furloughed Education Department staffers told the outlet their out-of-office messages were automatically configured to include the partisan language.
When ABC News pressed for comment, an agency spokesperson responded, “Where’s the lie?”
“The email reminds those who reach out to Department of Education employees that we cannot respond because Senate Democrats are refusing to vote for a clean CR and fund the government,” the spokesperson told the outlet. (Read more from “Democratic Rep Freaks Out After Trump Admin Auto-Emails Reportedly Blame Shutdown On Democrats” HERE)
