BREAKING: Federal Judge Delivers Scathing Rebuke to Trump’s ‘Partisan Propaganda’ Email Scheme – ‘Even This Administration Isn’t Above the Law’

In a resounding victory for federal workers and a stinging defeat for the Trump White House, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper unleashed a 36-page takedown on November 7, 2025, ruling that the Department of Education (DOE) violated the First Amendment by hijacking furloughed employees’ out-of-office email replies to blast MAGA-fueled finger-pointing at Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown. The decision, handed down amid the 38-day funding fiasco—the longest in U.S. history—forces the DOE to scrub the biased language from all affected accounts, a move hailed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) as proof that “even this administration is not above the law.” Cooper, an Obama appointee, didn’t mince words: The ploy wasn’t clever comms; it was “commandeering” civil servants’ inboxes to turn them into unwilling Trump cheerleaders, eroding the “bedrock” of nonpartisan public service in a desperate bid to spin the shutdown’s pain.

The scandal erupted in late October, as the shutdown—triggered by Democratic demands for Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions in a clean continuing resolution—sent 800,000 feds packing without paychecks. DOE staff, locked out of systems, awoke to automated horror: Their standard “I’m on furlough” replies had been rewritten to include a partisan screed: “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 I am currently in furlough status.” The first-person phrasing—”I am currently in furlough status”—made it seem like the workers themselves were echoing White House spin, a tactic one anonymous DOE employee blasted to NBC as “unethical” and “illegal,” adding, “None of us consented to this. It’s written like I’m the one saying it—and I’m not.”

AFGE, repping over 2,000 DOE members, fired off a cease-and-desist letter on October 15 before suing in D.C. federal court, alleging Hatch Act breaches and compelled speech under the First Amendment. The union, backed by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen, argued the DOE—under Secretary Linda McMahon—exploited the shutdown’s chaos to conscript nonpartisan staff into a “multifront campaign to assign blame,” including similar jabs on agency websites. Cooper, presiding over the fast-tracked case, granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs, denying the government’s counter-motion. “The department waited until its furloughed employees lost access to their email, then gratuitously changed their out-of-office messages to include yet another partisan message, thereby turning its own workforce into political spokespeople,” he wrote, slamming the move as “an unprecedented violation” that “added insult to injury” for paycheck-starved workers.

The ruling’s scope is surgical but sweeping: It permanently enjoins the DOE from future tinkering for AFGE-represented staff, with a caveat—if tech makes it impossible to target only union accounts, the purge extends agency-wide. Cooper underscored the principle: “When government employees enter public service, they do not sign away their First Amendment rights, and they certainly do not sign up to be a billboard for any given administration’s partisan views.” AFGE President Everett Kelley celebrated it as a “major victory,” tweeting: “Civil servants are not a political tool… our federal workforce serves the public, not political agendas.” Democracy Forward’s Skye Perryman echoed: “No administration—of any party—can commandeer public servants’ identities and force them to push partisan propaganda.”

This isn’t isolated mischief; it’s part of Trump’s broader shutdown psyop. The White House has littered official sites with blame-Democrats banners, from IRS notices to National Park alerts, drawing ethics complaints and whispers of Hatch Act probes. Critics tie it to the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) machete swings—led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—slashing 20% of non-essential feds, fueling off-year Democratic wins in Virginia and New Jersey where shutdown pain flipped governorships. The administration’s defense? A feeble nod to “precedents” from Obama and Biden eras, but Cooper swatted it: Political officials can trash-talk; they can’t puppeteer the rank-and-file. DOE spokespeople went radio-silent, but insiders leak plans for an appeal, potentially escalating to the D.C. Circuit.

The fallout ripples far. As air traffic controllers skip pay and SNAP benefits evaporate for 40 million, this ruling spotlights Trump’s weaponization of bureaucracy—echoing Russiagate subpoenas and felony-overturn bids. Polls show 58% blame Republicans for the impasse, with independents souring on the chaos. On X, #TrumpEmailGate trended with 120K posts: Liberals crowed “Checkmate on the propaganda machine!” while MAGA holdouts fumed “Obama judge strikes again—deep state sabotage!” Even Fox’s Sean Hannity griped it’s “overreach,” a rare concession amid shutdown finger-wagging.

Politically incorrect truth: This email fiasco isn’t genius psyops; it’s amateur-hour desperation from an admin that’s turned governance into a grievance podcast. Blaming “Democrat Senators” (note the grammar flub) via unwilling drones? That’s not winning hearts—it’s losing lawsuits and elections. Trump’s crew preaches “drain the swamp” while flooding inboxes with swamp gas; the irony’s thicker than the shutdown’s red ink ($18 billion and counting). Cooper’s right: Nonpartisanship isn’t optional—it’s the firewall against turning Uncle Sam into Uncle Goebbels. If this doesn’t force a clean CR, nothing will. Like and share if you think tax dollars buy service, not sermons—because in America, even kings can’t rewrite your auto-reply.