Nov. 10, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Monica AlbaWASHINGTON — A group of Senate Democrats is pushing for an investigation into the Trump administration’s use of federal agency websites and emails to post partisan messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.In a letter obtained by NBC News, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and other Democrats ask the Government Accountability Office to open a probe into whether the political messages violated federal appropriations laws.The lawmakers point specifically to a rule that prohibits the executive branch from using funds for “purely partisan” purposes. They are asking for more information from the GAO to see if several agencies violated laws that pertain to ethics and partisan political activity.Text shown on the USDA’s website.USDAAs NBC News previously reported, multiple agencies have posted messages on their official federal websites blaming Democrats and the “radical left” for the shutdown. Some also encouraged employees to post similar messages in their out-of-office replies. And five employees of the Department of Education told NBC News that their automatic email replies were changed to partisan messages without their consent.Hakeem Jeffries says ‘I hope’ shutdown ends before Thanksgiving: Full interview12:52The letter points to a message posted two days before funding lapsed at the end of September on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website as an example. “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 post read. “The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.”Once the shutdown began, it was amended to: “The Radical Left shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”A spokesperson for HUD defended the message to NBC News in October, saying it was carefully crafted not to blame a political party, but instead focused on an ideology.The departments of Agriculture, Justice and the Treasury, as well as the Small Business Administration, used similar language on their websites, with some specifically naming Democrats. The Transportation Security Administration began playing videos at some airports nationwide that blamed the shutdown on Democrats as well.