Just as every American has the right to political speech, no American should be forced to express a political statement they do not agree with.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) attempted to violate this right when, during the 2025 government shutdown, it altered employees’ “out-of-office” auto-reply email messages without their knowledge or consent at the behest of the Trump administration to include explicitly partisan language.
The union representing the employees sued the Trump administration to remove the language and declare the move unconstitutional. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a brief in support of the employees, emphasizing the importance of a nonpartisan civil service in ensuring trust in our government and the way that a nonpartisan civil service promotes civil servants’ First Amendment rights in their private lives.
On November 7, 2025, the D.C. District Court sided with federal employees and declared the DOE’s actions unconstitutional, re-affirming the key principle argued in CLC’s brief — nonpartisanship protects our civil servants and strengthens democracy as a whole.
CLC is heartened that the courts have rebuked the Trump administration’s latest attempt to test the bounds of nonpartisanship in government and open the door to at least the appearance of corruption.
Nonpartisanship is a key principle of civil service.
After DOE employees were sent home at the beginning of the 2025 government shutdown, Department leadership changed employees’ individual out-of-office messages without their knowledge or consent to blame the Trump administration’s political opponents for the shutdown. DOE’s actions plainly violated the First Amendment.
As Campaign Legal Center explained in its brief, the United States has a longstanding history of nonpartisanship in the civil service. Congress has long recognized — and enforced — this nonpartisanship principle as a requirement for government employees when acting in their official capacity.
This nonpartisanship principle protects civil servants’ First Amendment right to engage in the partisan speech of their choosing in their private lives. Placing partisan words in the mouths of federal employees in the course of those employees’ official duties muddies the waters and impedes federal employees’ ability to advance a clear and consistent partisan viewpoint in their private lives.
The nonpartisanship principle also promotes public trust in the federal government. Nonpartisan civil servants make up much of our federal government, carrying out the everyday services of the federal government — from processing Social Security payments to measuring air and water pollution — serve presidential administrations regardless of which party controls the White House.
They are the first line of defense in ensuring our system of government works for all Americans. The laws requiring non-appointed government employees to be nonpartisan shield these federal workers from being targeted by government officials looking to advance a political agenda and allow them to do their jobs without fear or favor.
Upholding nonpartisanship is even more dire under this second Trump presidency. His first administration featured multiple violations of the Hatch Act — a law that limits the political activities of federal employees — and his second has tested the bounds of ethics laws like never before.
When civil servants are turned into unwilling political pawns, Americans lose trust that the government is truly working to serve the public interest.
We are defending the right of Americans to have a government that works for them.
The employees’ union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), sued DOE to restore the email messages to their original, nonpartisan form and called on the courts to declare this action as unconstitutional.
Campaign Legal Center supported the plaintiff with a brief that argued the Trump administration’s actions not only undermined the legal importance of nonpartisanship in civil service, but also blatantly violated these employees’ First Amendment right to free speech.
The D.C. District Court agreed, emphasizing that nonpartisanship remains the bedrock of civil service not only because it prevents corruption and ensures the efficacy of our government, but also because it safeguards the First Amendment rights of federal workers. Campaign Legal Center and a host of other groups mobilized to halt this latest attack on our democracy. We are prepared to respond to the onslaught of challenges brought forward by a president determined to weaponize and hyper-politicize the federal government.
The work doesn’t end here. Campaign Legal Center is currently fighting in court to protect the rule of law, our constitutional rights and challenge presidential overreach in the executive branch.
Join us today in our mission to keep government working for everyday Americans; not the interests of any political party, administration or government official.
