Trump and government agencies are using taxpayer dollars to blame Democrats for the shutdown. Is it legal?
From inside the White House to the banners plastered on government websites, Donald Trump and administration officials are explicitly blaming Democratic members of Congress for the federal shutdown.
Watchdog groups say the statements are in apparent defiance of ethics laws that prohibit political attacks and campaigning from inside federal facilities — which the president has continued to do since entering office without facing any consequences.
“The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government,” according to a large pop-up message and a bright red banner on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website.
Another message at the top of the Department of Justice website says, “Democrats have shut down the government.”
“Due to the Democrat-led shutdown, website updates will be limited until full operations resume,” according to a red banner on the State Department’s website.
A massive brown banner on the Department of Agriculture reads: “Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.”
The Small Business Administration’s website twice blames “Senate Democrats” in a long screed at the top of its website.
And on the White House website, a message reading “Democrats Have Shut Down The Government” displays alongside a timer showing how long the shutdown has been in effect.
When The Independent requested comment from the White House about the messages and allegations that agencies are violating federal ethics laws, an automatic reply said: “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 message said.
Democratic members of Congress have accused Trump and Republicans of blatantly lying about Democratic opposition to a GOP-led government funding plan, particularly around claims that Democrats are pushing for healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants, who cannot legally access federal healthcare programs.
Democratic officials have also rejected Republican attempts to blame them for mass layoffs and furloughs of federal employees, arguing that the administration is using the shutdown crisis as a pretext to slash budgets and fire workers.
“These are all things that the Trump administration has been doing since Jan. 20,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday.
The Trump administration’s messaging is in stark contrast to more restrained language from the federal government during previous funding crises; in 2013, then-President Barack Obama said that Congress “failed to meet its responsibility” by approving a spending plan, without mentioning the Republicans who blocked it.
