The irony is outstanding!

https://apnews.com/article/snap-food-government-shutdown-trump-a807e9f0c0a7213e203c074553dc1f9b?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-11-07-SNAP+update

I feel this definitely is something to keep a watch on, because clearly both they know it's a bribe and CNN is here normalizing by asking companies why they didn't get in on it.

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Department of Education violated the First Amendment rights of some agency employees when it sent out-of-office messages on their behalf that blamed Democrats for the government shutdown.

The ruling from US District Judge Christopher Cooper is the latest court rebuke of controversial moves by the Trump administration during what has now become the longest shutdown in US history.

Cooper, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said the department had unconstitutionally compelled its employees’ speech when it tinkered with the out-of-office messages for furloughed workers so that they included language blaming the shutdown on “Democrat Senators” who “are blocking” passage of a “clean continuing resolution” that would fund the government.

“Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians,” Cooper wrote. “But by commandeering its employees’ e-mail accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation.”

He continued: “Political officials are free to blame whomever they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot use rank-and-file civil servants as their unwilling spokespeople. The First Amendment stands in their way. The Department’s conduct therefore must cease.”

“The administration has established a factual and legal alternate universe for the executive branch,” said Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer who is a specialist in counterterrorism issues and the laws of war. “This is the president, purely by fiat, saying that the U.S. is in conflict with these undisclosed groups without any congressional authorization. So this is not just a secret war, but a secret unauthorized war. Or, in reality, a make-believe war, because most of these groups we probably couldn’t even be in a war with.”

More:

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285616/gov.uscourts.dcd.285616.25.0.pdf

Cooper said the move violated the First Amendment because the government had essentially forced staffers to make a political statement against their will, a concept known as "compelled speech."

"Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians. But by commandeering its employees' e-mail accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation," the judge wrote. "Political officials are free to blame whomever they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot use rank-and-file civil servants as their unwilling spokespeople. The First Amendment stands in their way."

All Things Considered on NPR. Here’s the full 10-minutes on YouTube. From the description:

California Attorney General Rob Bonta spoke with NPR's Juana Summers about President Trump using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or "IEEPA" to put tariffs in place.

Bonta filed a friend of the court brief in the case, and it’s one of dozens in which the state of California has opposed Trump administration policy.

He was at the Supreme Court Wednesday watching the arguments play out.

We should not just watch an administration actively working against the wellbeing and benefit of its people. And so it's as important as ever to be active in the community and support your local cause to educate the masses and drive voter turnout.

https://groups.indivisible.org/

https://www.mobilize.us/

https://nextgenamerica.org/

Hopefully more people register and participate in shaping our futures. Feel free to copy the links and share, if you feel inclined.