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Government Shutdown: Agencies Blame Democrats in Out-of-Office Replies

10/3/2025

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Summary

Story summary

On October 2, 2025, during the U.S. government shutdown, Department of Education out-of-office replies were altered to blame Senate Democrats.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Labor (DOL) also replaced out-of-office messages with language accusing Democrats of blocking funding.
The origin of the edits remains unclear.
Employees report unauthorized modifications and repeated attempts to revert messages.

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Story summary

On October 2, 2025, during the U.S. government shutdown, Department of Education out-of-office replies were altered to blame Senate Democrats.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Labor (DOL) also replaced out-of-office messages with language accusing Democrats of blocking funding.
The origin of the edits remains unclear.
Employees report unauthorized modifications and repeated attempts to revert messages.