A federal judge ruled that the Department of Education violated the First Amendment by changing the out-of-office emails of several employees without their consent. The emails set by the agency included partisan language that blamed the Democratic Party for the government shutdown.

In his decision, issued Friday, US District Judge Christopher Cooper stated that while political officials are free to blame “whoever they wish for the shutdown,” the use of rank-and-file civil servants as “unwilling” spokespeople is prohibited and must cease. Cooper added that nonpartisanship is a core tenet of the federal civil service, enshrined in the Hatch Act , ensuring that the government serves “the public, not the politicians.”

Brought forth by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE

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