Overview

• SBA employees received an HR-drafted out-of-office template blaming Senate Democrats and citing an estimate that 320 small businesses lose access to $170 million in SBA-guaranteed funding each day.
• An SBA spokesperson said the language was optional, members of the agency’s press team appeared to use it, and the agency later defended the message as factual.
• HUD’s website and internal system displayed banners and pop-ups saying the “Radical Left in Congress shut down the government,” and DOJ’s website carried a banner stating, “Democrats have shut down the government.”
• The White House site featured a “Democrats Have Shut Down the Government” banner and its comment line played a recorded message from press secretary Karoline Leavitt assigning blame to Democrats.
• The messaging drew warnings about possible Hatch Act violations, while reporting estimated roughly 750,000 federal workers would be furloughed with about $400 million in daily back pay costs once funding is restored.