SEEING RED

Government Site Blaming Shutdown on ‘Radical Left’ Sparks Furious Backlash

Critics believe the political message is unlawful.

Officials at a government website sparked outrage after it featured a red banner blaming the shutdown on the “radical left.”

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, on its official site, displayed the message, in language that bears striking similarities to the official White House’s social media accounts.

Democrats and other critics slammed the MAGA message on the official government department website, which usually stays out of political fighting.

“The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people,” the message said.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner repeated the language on X, adding, “HUD is working to keep critical services online and support our most vulnerable,” he wrote. Turner said in another post, “The Radical Left has shut down our government, but not our calling.”

Democrats slammed the messaging. “We should not be putting political messages on government webpages,” said Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Reuters reported.

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat and longtime Trump critic, said HUD was simply parroting the president, calling it “a radical departure from American history” and “the use of public taxpayer funds for overtly political and polemical reasons.”

Critics outside Congress pointed to potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities.

“This is absolutely a violation of the Hatch Act and must be investigated immediately,” wrote political commentator Brian Krassenstein in a post on X.

Navy veteran and former congressional candidate Phil Ehr said on X, “HUD putting propaganda on a federal website isn’t just wrong, it’s illegal.”

The nonprofit Democracy Forward said it had already launched an investigation, calling the messages “not just unAmerican – it’s unlawful.”

It said on X, “There are laws in place to keep federal agencies nonpartisan.”

The Daily Beast has contacted HUD for comment.

Spokesperson Matthew Maley defended the message in an email to The Guardian, “The Far Left is barreling our country toward a shutdown, which will hurt all Americans. At HUD, we are working to keep critical services online and support our most vulnerable.”

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With no government funding deal in place, the shutdown was triggered on Wednesday, pausing paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal employees deemed nonessential by the White House.

The shutdown will only end once Congress agrees on and passes a funding bill.

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Isabel van BrugenFreelance Writer

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