Federal Workers Are Being Told to Blame Democrats for the Shutdown

The article reports that federal workers were instructed to use partisan language in their out-of-office replies during the government shutdown. According to the article, employees at one government agency were provided with pre-written messages that blamed the Democratic party for the shutdown. The article states that the language used in these messages was "unhinged" and highly political, going beyond the typical factual explanations typically found in out-of-office replies. This directive from the agency management is seen as an attempt to politicize the government shutdown and shift the blame to the opposing political party. The article suggests that this practice is concerning as it undermines the non-partisan nature of civil service and could further divide the public's perception of the government's response to the shutdown. The article does not provide details on which specific agency issued these instructions or how widespread the practice was across the federal government.