Senate Democrats seek investigation into Trump shutdown messaging
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Senate Democrats are demanding an investigation into “partisan messages” the Trump administration used on official government websites during the longest government shutdown in US history.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California and others are calling on the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) to launch an investigation into whether the Trump administration crossed the line and broke federal law with messages posted on official government websites placing blame for the shutdown on Democrats.
“Some agencies’ announcements appeared to contain nothing more than partisan messaging and were unconnected to official business,” the lawmakers wrote in a Nov. 9 letter to GAO.
Lawmakers particularly drew attention to the messages published on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website and stated on the website during the shutdown: “The Radical Left will shut down the government and cause great pain to the American people unless their $1.5 trillion wish list is met. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open to the American people.”
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Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks at a town hall meeting at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019. (Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)
As a result, lawmakers questioned whether the statement and others from different agencies violated federal law that prohibits the use of federal funds “for publicity or propaganda purposes.”
“Longstanding federal appropriations law prohibits the executive branch from using federal funds ‘for publicity or propaganda purposes,’ including purely partisan materials,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. he wrote. “Federal law also prohibits agencies from using any appropriated funds, directly or indirectly, to generate publicity designed to influence Congress to support or oppose legislation or appropriations.”
But Hans von Spakovsky, senior lawyer at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, said Democrats were trying to distance themselves from their role in the shutdown.
WHILE THE ISSUE OF THE SPENDING AGREEMENT IS NOT DISCLOSED IN CONGRESS, THEN THE GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN.
“This is a ridiculous claim and just a publicity stunt by Democrats who want to distract attention from their failures,” Spokovsky told Fox News Digital on Friday. he said. “It was absolutely correct to blame Democrats for the shutdown, because they voted more than a dozen times to keep the government shut down. The truth is an absolute defense against any allegations of partisan messaging.”
The White House expressed similar sentiments in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday.
“It is an objective fact that Democrats were responsible for shutting down the government; the Trump Administration simply shared the truth with the American people,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. he said.
GAO spokeswoman Jessica Baxter told Fox News Digital on Friday that the agency had received the request and was in the midst of evaluating it.
Senator Adam Schiff of California speaks at a press conference introducing the 2025 Assault Weapons Ban on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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“I can confirm that GAO has received this congressional request,” Baxter said. “GAO has a process it goes through to determine if and when we do business, and that’s what we’re working on right now.”
Other lawmakers who signed the letter include Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Ron Wyden of Oregon.
Trump signed a bill Wednesday to re-fund the government as the consequences of the cut in funding begin to mount, including missed paychecks for federal employees and airline delays due to air traffic controller staffing shortages.
The White House is seen the day after President Donald Trump announced US military strikes on nuclear sites in Iran in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2025. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The bill keeps the government’s finances at fiscal 2025 spending levels through Jan. 30 to provide lawmakers with an opportunity to provide a longer appropriations measure for fiscal 2026.
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The shutdown comes as Republicans and Democrats are wrangling over several health care provisions to include in a potential funding measure. Trump and Republicans claimed Democrats want to provide health care to illegal immigrants and pointed to a provision that would repeal a portion of Trump’s tax and domestic policy bill, known as the “big, beautiful bill,” that reduces Medicaid eligibility for non-U.S. citizens.
But Democrats said that wasn’t the case and instead wanted to permanently extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025.
