A federal workers union is suing the Trump administration for inserting language into Department of Education employees' out-of-office email messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown .

"Forcing civil servants to speak on behalf of the political leadership's partisan agenda is a blatant violation of federal employees' First Amendment rights," said the complaint , which was filed by the American Federation of Government Employees in federal district court in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

The lawsuit is the first to challenge the administration's unusual use of partisan messaging in government communications during the shutdown, which legal experts told NPR may violate federal ethics laws.

The White House began pointing the finger at Democrats as the government shut down

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