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Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown
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Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown

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On Wednesday, the first day of the US government shutdown, employees at the Department of Education (DOE) set their automatic out-of-office email responses to inform recipients that they would be unable to respond until after the shutdown. Hours later, many DOE employees realized their response message had been altered to contain partisan language without their consent. The automatic reply now blamed Senate Democrats for the entire shutdown.

It’s not clear who made the change to email accounts, which was first posted about on Bluesky by journalist Marisa Kabas. “It’s disturbing,” says a DOE employee who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the press. Some employees changed their responses back to the more neutral language, only to have it changed yet again to the partisan response, multiple sources tell WIRED.

As government employees began to log off in preparation for a shutdown, many agencies sent out guidance, including suggested language for their out-of-office message. While some agencies offered employees neutral language, simply explaining they would not be able to reply until the shutdown concluded, employees at the Small Business Administration and, according to sources and screenshots reviewed by WIRED, the Department of Labor, received suggested language that blamed Democrats for the shutdown.

At the DOE, human resources sent employees standard language ahead of the shutdown, and many employees used this as their OOO text. Originally, the suggested language given to DOE employees read, “Thank you for your email. There is a temporary shutdown of the US government due to a lapse in appropriations. I will respond to your message as soon as possible after the temporary shutdown ends. Please visit Ed.gov for the latest information on the Department’s operational status.” Many employees set this neutral language as their OOO status.

The new, changed message reads:

“Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed HR 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of HR 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.”



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Federal Workers Are Being Told to Blame Democrats for the Shutdown
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Federal Workers Are Being Told to Blame Democrats for the Shutdown

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At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, employees were instructed to set an out-of-office message that reads, “The federal government’s spending authority expired at 11:59 on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, therefore, most HUD programs have been temporarily interrupted, and most HUD employees have been told they cannot work…We regret any inconvenience the government lapse of appropriations may cause.”

On the agency’s website however, a pop-up window announces, “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.” The same language appears on a red banner at the top of the website, as well as in a pop-up with the same banner in the agency’s internal system for employees, hud@work.

“You can’t click anything without these annoying pop-ups. Every single click to get to a time card or HRConnect,” says a HUD employee who asked to remain anonymous because they aren’t authorized to speak to the press. “It’s fucking nuts.”

HUD did not respond to a request for comment.

The website for the Department of Justice (DOJ) also includes a banner stating, “Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated.”

The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.

In the lead up to the shutdown, employees across government received emails from agency leaders containing similar sentiments to those in the SBA email. An email from HUD’s deputy secretary Andrew Hughes on the evening of September 30 included the subject line, “Far Left Gov Shutdown Imminent” and included instructions for HUD employees during the shutdown. An email received by employees at the Department of the Interior (DOI), with a signature from Secretary Doug Burgum, read, “President Trump opposes a government shutdown, and strongly supports the enactment of HR 5371, which is a clean Continuing Resolution to fund the government through November 21, and already passed the US House of Representatives. Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the US Senate due to unrelated policy demands.”

A nearly identical email was sent out to employees at the Small Business Administration (SBA) from the email associated with the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO).

“The tone of the language is very antagonistic and partisan in a way we don’t expect from formal messaging from agency leaders,” says Moynihan. “If you had a federal employee who emailed their colleagues blaming president Trump for the shut down, they’d be pursued for a Hatch Act violation and probably fired in the meantime.”

In a memo posted on X that appeared to be sent to the heads of executive departments and agencies, Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), alleged that the government was shutting down due to “insane policy demands” from Democrats.

Leah Feiger contributed reporting.



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(Jason Hafso/Unsplash)
Crypto Trends

Is Binance Cutting Deals with Team Trump? That’s What Senate Democrats Are Asking

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Binance, the largest global crypto exchange, is still under the constraints of a massive, $4.3 billion U.S. enforcement action, though Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats are asking the Trump administration about reports that it’s easing off on those orders.

In 2023, the major digital assets platform agreed to settle with U.S. authorities for sanctions violations, insufficient money-laundering protections and operating without proper licensing, and its leader, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations, stepping down from the company and serving a brief prison sentence. Warren and two other senators, Richard Blumenthal and Mazie Hirono questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi in a letter this week, asking about reports by outlets including Bloomberg News that the company has spoken to the U.S. about dropping its independent compliance monitor.

The senators also raised the continuing financial ties between the family of President Donald Trump and Binance, through their stake in World Liberty Financial.

“These reports make it more important than ever that the public understand the Trump administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees,” they wrote, demanding “meaningful” answers to several questions about the U.S. Department of Justice’s interactions with Binance, including whether a pardon is being considered for CZ.

As the markets contemplated a potential return of CZ, the Binance-tied BNB token rocketed over $1,000 for the first time, leaping over SOL to become the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

The prosecution of Binance in the U.S., where the independent Binance.US arm still operates, occurred under the previous administration, and the arrival of President Trump and his pro-crypto choices to be regulators and law enforcement officials has rapidly shifted the stance of the U.S. government. Many of the efforts of previous officials to address digital assets market risks and the dangers of their use in illicit finance and drug trafficking have been overtaken by the administration’s interest in financial innovation and establishing the U.S. as a global crypto hub.

In May, the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to drop its long-running lawsuit against Binance.

Read More: BNB Hits $1,000 All-Time High as Binance Nears DOJ Deal, Rumors of CZ’s Return Grow



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Democrats are investigating Trump crypto advisor David Sacks over a possible SGE violation

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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) are leading a group of congressional Democrats in investigating White House Special Advisor David Sacks for possibly serving in his position for longer than he’s allowed. Sacks, a former PayPal executive and venture capitalist at Craft Ventures, was originally picked by President Donald Trump to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar” in 2024.

“Any effort to stay beyond the time limits imposed on you as a Special Government Employee (SGE) would raise additional ethics concerns for you and the Trump Administration,” the group writes in a letter to Sacks,”particularly as it moves to implement recently enacted cryptocurrency legislation and put in place new rules for the crypto industry.”

Besides being friendly with the Trump campaign and allies like Elon Musk, Sacks was given his position because of his knowledge of the crypto and AI industries as an investor. That poses an obvious conflict of interest, something that’s only waived during the 130-day limit that SGEs are supposed to serve. As Warren and the other Democrats backing the investigation note, though, it’s possible Sacks has been working in his role for longer than that.

“If you have worked every calendar day since the presidential inauguration, your 130th day of work in this role was May 29, 2025,” the group writes. “If you have worked every business day, your 130th day was July 25, 2025. As of the date of this letter, it is the 167th business day of this Administration.”

As part of the investigation, Sacks is expected to offer a more detailed account of when and how he works in his advisory role, including if he answers government emails while working in Silicon Valley. Congressional Democrats are trying to verify if norms have been violated to make sure that they won’t be violated in the future, but there are larger ethical concerns to contend with, too.

The second Trump administration has been friendly to the crypto industry, likely thanks in part to the influence of Sacks. Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of a federal Bitcoin stockpile and signed the GENIUS Act into law in July, establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically tied to the value of the US dollar. Continuing to serve in his role without leaving his position at Craft Ventures or disclosing his investments would only raise more questions about how Sacks stands to benefit from advising on regulation.



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Crypto exchange Bullish goes public on the New York Stock Exchange. (CoinDesk/Nik De)
Crypto Trends

Democrats in Congress Call Foul on Status of Trump’s Crypto Czar David Sacks

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President Donald Trump’s top adviser on crypto, David Sacks, is working under a “special government employee” status that’s meant to be for officials serviing an important but temporary duty with the federal government, and Senator Elizabeth Warren penned a letter with other Democrats in Congress asking him whether he’s overstepped that window.

Such an employee isn’t allowed to serve more than 130 days in a year, according to the law, and the Wednesday letter to Sacks asks him to put a number on the days the prominent venture capitalist has worked for Trump in the role as crypto and artificial intelligence czar. Under the rules, any day in which he’s done work counts against that 130, though in some agencies, the limit has commonly been governed by a “good faith” estimate of how long the official expects to serve.

“If you have worked every business day, your 130th day was July 25, 2025,” according to the letter signed by Warren and several other members of the Senate and House of Representatives, including Bernie Sanders. The lawmakers called their review of this timeline since the January 20 start of the administration an “investigation.”

“If you have indeed passed the 130th day mark, you are undermining the careful balance Congress struck in creating the SGE designation. It is only because of your designation as an SGE that you have been able to continue working for and being paid by Craft Ventures during your time in government,” read the letter.

Trump has used the temporary employment status in a high-profile fashion, also employing Tesla CEO Elon Musk in that capacity. The personnel tool is designed to be used to bring expertise into government without having to clear some of the bureaucratic hoops of typical hiring. Earlier this year, other Democrats in Congress pushed a bill that sought to inhibit such employees from using the role to seek financial gain, and Warren also pursued legislation to limit SGEs.

There have been more than 170 business days since Trump took office. Since then, Sacks has been running the president’s aggressive pro-crypto agenda, which has so far celebrated one major new law to regulate U.S. stablecoin issuers — leading to a White House signing ceremony that Sacks attended.

He’s also acted as the boss of the administration’s day-to-day crypto adviser, which had originally been Bo Hines until he left to work for Tether as its top U.S. executive. Patrick Witt replaced Hines as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, and he told CoinDesk he’s still working closely with Sacks.



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Morning Minute: Democrats Want A Seat at the Crypto Table

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Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors chop, SOL leads at $220; BTC at $112,300
  • Several crypto mining stocks soar on back of Oracle report of AI demand
  • Senate Democrats give list of conditions to work together on crypto market structure bill
  • Hyperliquid’s USDH proposal bids now heavily favor Native Markets
  • SBET buys 0 ETH last week, spends $15M on share buybacks

🏛️ Democrats Want A Seat at the Crypto Table

One of the biggest outstanding risks to crypto in America is its politicization and the potential for reversals and clawbacks if power changes.

Well, that risk can be alleviated right now if Senate Democrats get their way.

📌 What Happened

An important crypto market structure bill is currently being debated in Congress, and it looks like a group of pro-crypto Democrats are ready to work across the aisle –

As long as certain conditions are met.

Yesterday, a group of 12 Senate Democrats released a policy framework spelling out what they want in any digital-asset market-structure bill.

First and foremost, they want seats at the SEC and CFTC. Both of which have 5 commissioner seats, capped at 3 per party.

In addition to those seats, other conditions span:

  • consumer protection
  • jurisdictional clarity between the SEC and CFTC
  • rules for issuers and trading platforms
  • guardrails on illicit finance, and
  • ethics provisions to curb political self-dealing.

The move is positioned as a response to the GOP’s expanding draft and an invitation to negotiate a bipartisan deal that can clear the Senate.

The Democratic cohort includes Sens. Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock and others, several of whom voted for the bipartisan GENIUS stablecoin law, suggesting they’re viable swing votes.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“For digital assets regulation to succeed, it is essential that regulators have the funding and staff that they need. These agencies also require Democratic voices, as Congress intended: only a bipartisan regulatory process will produce durable, balanced rules that provide long-term stability and legitimacy for digital asset markets.” – Letter published by Sen. Ruben Gallego

“Democrats want to rightfully feel like their voice and concerns have a proxy in the room during any rulemaking at these agencies, and they want to know that, if confirmed, those commissioners won’t be summarily fired.” – A D.C. insider, speaking to Decrypt

🧠 Why It Matters

This is the path to a real, durable crypto framework that can survive a change in power.

A Republican-only bill can pass the House, but it cannot clear the Senate without Democratic votes—and even if it did, it would be vulnerable to reversal in the next political cycle.

Bringing Democrats into the conversation now raises the odds of a stable, bipartisan regulatory framework that survives changes in power.

And overall their conditions are very reasonable: they want seats at the SEC & CFTC to have a say, assurances that new rules won’t weaken existing tradfi ones, prevention of using crypto to evade regulations, preserving consumer protection and creation an “appropriate and effective” DeFi framework.

On paper, all of those things make sense.

Working across the aisle now and reaching bipartisan agreement means less regulatory whiplash for exchanges, issuers, and investors, and a more predictable future.

And most importantly of all for 2028: if power flips again, a bipartisan law on the books is much harder to unwind than agency guidance or a narrow, partisan statute.

Cooperation today is the cheapest insurance policy against policy U-turns tomorrow.



🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

  • Crypto majors are mostly flat with SOL leading; BTC -0.3% at $112,300, ETH -0.5% at $4,330, XRP -1% at $2.97, SOL +1% at $220
  • STORY (+17%), MNT (+13%) and PUMP (+13%) led top movers
  • Several crypto stocks saw significant breakouts yesterday, including CIFR (+19%), IREN (+15%), RIOT (+13%), ABTC (+11%) and GLXY (+10%)
  • Senate Democrats outlined a set of conditions and a push for seats on the SEC and CFTC to influence crypto market-structure legislation, showing openness to passing crypto legislation along as it’s bipartisan
  • Eric Trump was removed from ALT5 Sigma, World LibertyFi’s treasury company, to meet Nasdaq compliance rules
  • Trump’s Truth Social and Truth+ will allow users to convert “gems” to CRO tokens, alleviating concerns of another net new Trump token coming
  • The CBOE said it plans to launch long-dated “Continuous” Bitcoin and Ethereum futures for U.S. customers in November, pending regulatory approval
  • A Doge ETF ‘DOJE’ is slated to launch tomorrow as first ever major meme ETF
  • Kraken rolled out its tokenized equities ‘xStocks’ to the EU

In Corporate Treasuries

  • SharpLink had no ETH buys last week, but began executing its previously authorized $1.5B stock buyback with an initial $15M repurchase
  • Metaplanet raised another $1.45B via share sale to buy more BTC
  • QMMM stock jumped 17x on Tuesday after they announced a $100M treasury for BTC, ETH and SOL

In Memes

  • Meme coin leaders are slightly red on the day; DOGE even, Shiba -1%, PEPE -3%, PENGU -3%, BONK -3%, TRUMP even, SPX even, and FARTCOIN -1%
  • PUMP rallied another 13% to $5.4B FDV and a new local high
  • IRYNA soared 660% to $24M leading onchain SOL runners; STREAMER (+240%), 67 (+40%) and XVM (+80%) all had notable moves

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

🤖 AI x Crypto

Section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:

  • Overall market cap down 3% at $13.5B, leaders were red
  • FARTCOIN (-1%), VIRTUAL (-3%), TIBBIR (-2%), aixbt (-8%) & ai16z (-7%)
  • LEA (+15%) and CGPT (+5%) led top movers

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

  • ETH NFT leaders were mostly even; Punks even at 48.3 ETH, Pudgy -1% at 10.4, BAYC -2% at 9.05 ETH
  • Creepz +17% were a notable mover
  • Abstract NFTs were mixed, led by Bearish (+12%)
  • Art Blocks introduced its 2nd to last Art Blocks Curated project, ‘Gas Wars’ by Jack Butcher coming September 17

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.





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Trump’s crypto footprint shapes Democrats’ blueprint for new rules
NFT Gaming

Trump’s crypto footprint shapes Democrats’ blueprint for new rules

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Donald Trump’s transformation into a crypto advocate has left an indelible mark on the regulatory landscape. The Democratic framework positions itself as both a roadmap for market clarity and a rebuke of what Democrats call unprecedented corruption linked to the President’s family ventures in digital assets.

Summary

  • Senate Democrats unveiled a seven-pillar crypto framework granting the CFTC oversight of digital commodity spot markets and mandating issuer transparency.
  • The plan introduces strict ethics rules aimed at preventing elected officials from profiting from crypto, citing Trump’s family ventures as a case study.
  • Positioned as a counterweight to the GOP’s Clarity Act, the proposal sets up high-stakes negotiations over the future of the $4T U.S. crypto market.

On September 9, a coalition of 12 Senate Democrats, including figures like Ruben Gallego and Kirsten Gillibrand, unveiled a comprehensive seven-pillar framework for digital asset market structure.

The document directly attributes the urgent need for its stringent ethics provisions to President Trump, alleging he has “turned to digital asset projects to enrich himself and his family, abusing his office for corruption with no modern precedent.”

Notably, the framework represents the most detailed Democratic counterweight to the Republican-led Clarity Act, formally entering the party into high-stakes negotiations that will determine the future of the $4 trillion crypto market in the U.S.

Principles that define the Democrats’ crypto framework

The Democratic crypto framework aims to dismantle the legal ambiguities that have left investors unprotected and innovators navigating a compliance minefield. At the forefront is a shift in oversight, proposing to grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission exclusive jurisdiction over the spot market for digital commodities, a power it has historically lacked.

This would finally bring assets like Bitcoin (BTC) under a formal regulatory regime, applying anti-manipulation and financial integrity rules to a market currently operating with minimal federal oversight.

For issuers and platforms, the framework demands a new era of transparency. It calls for appropriate, timely, and accurate disclosures by digital asset issuers in plain language, moving beyond traditional SEC filings to include a token’s underlying technology, the developer’s use of proceeds, and insider transactions.

Simultaneously, it mandates that all digital asset platforms serving U.S. users register with FinCEN as financial institutions, squarely bringing them under the umbrella of the Bank Secrecy Act and stringent anti-money laundering obligations.

The framework also takes direct aim at the DeFi sector, directing regulators to develop an appropriate and effective oversight framework for protocols often used to skirt illicit finance controls.

“It is time to strengthen digital asset markets for investors and businesses through clear, consistent, and fair rules of the road. Legislation is the best way to protect consumers and investors while providing digital asset firms a pathway to grow,” the Senators wrote.

A framework forged in political fire

Notably, the framework proposes preventing corruption and abuse by explicitly limiting elected officials and their families from issuing, endorsing, or profiting from digital assets while in office.

The provision is inextricably linked to the political moment. According to a Bloomberg analysis, the Trump family’s collective wealth grew by an estimated $1.3 billion this week alone following the trading debut of mining company American Bitcoin (ABTC) and gains from a DeFi protocol linked to the family.

This windfall, which catapulted their estimated net worth to over $7.7 billion, provides financial context to the Democrats’ allegations of unprecedented self-dealing.

The competing Clarity Act, favored by Republicans, focuses on regulatory clarity and pathways to compliance but lacks comparable stringent ethics provisions, setting the stage for a fierce negotiation over this point.



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Senator Tim Scott courts Democrats for crypto bill as Warren rallies opposition
NFT Gaming

Senator Tim Scott courts Democrats for crypto bill as Warren rallies opposition

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By putting a number on his expected Democratic support, Senator Scott appears to be applying pressure and cracking a public whip count that might force hesitant senators to declare their position, turning a policy debate into a political test of loyalty and vision.

Summary

  • Senator Tim Scott predicts 12 to 18 Democrats may back the CLARITY Act in September.
  • The bill seeks to establish U.S. crypto market structure and regulatory clarity.
  • Scott identifies Senator Elizabeth Warren as a key obstacle to bipartisan support.

Speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on August 19, Republican Senator Tim Scott publicly quantified his expected Democratic support for the upcoming CLARITY Act, predicting between 12 to 18 cross-aisle votes.

The Senate Banking Committee Chairman detailed his outreach to Democrats, framing the vote as a necessary step to provide regulatory certainty in the crypto industry and to deliver on President Trump’s stated goal of making the U.S. a global hub for digital finance.

Notably, Scott directly addressed the primary obstacle, naming Senator Elizabeth Warren as the central “force to overcome” for Democrats who might otherwise be inclined to support the market structure legislation.

Warren’s objections and the politics of crypto regulation

The Senate’s draft bill, which builds upon the House’s CLARITY Act, seeks to clarify how the SEC and CFTC divide oversight and provide legal certainty for exchanges and token issuers.

For its backers, the bill represents a long overdue modernization of financial rules to accommodate crypto, a sector that has grown far faster than regulators’ ability to police it. Scott and other Republicans argue that without a comprehensive structure, innovation will drift overseas, leaving American markets behind.

Warren, the Banking Committee’s top Democrat, has cast the bill in starkly different terms. She has lambasted the Republican draft as an “industry handout,” arguing it creates a bespoke regulatory regime with weaker consumer protections and lighter compliance burdens than those mandated for traditional banks and financial institutions.

The Senator’s central critique is that the bill, shaped significantly by industry input, prioritizes the wishes of the crypto lobby over the financial safety of everyday Americans, potentially exposing the economy to systemic risks. She ties this to a broader narrative of corruption, highlighting the potential for conflicts of interest.

The political elephant in the room

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s line of criticism dovetails with a potent political attack from Democrats focused on President Trump’s business interests. They point to the estimated $620 million in profits his family has reportedly garnered from various crypto ventures, including DeFi projects and memecoins, as evidence that the administration’s pro-innovation stance is less about national policy and more about personal enrichment.

This framing appears to taint the entire legislative effort, making support for the bill politically toxic for Democrats by associating it with the President’s private financial gains.

Despite this formidable hurdle, Scott’s optimism is fueled by more than just hope. It is rooted in the unprecedented alignment of a crypto-friendly executive branch. He is counting on the Trump administration to act as a powerful ally, both in lobbying hesitant legislators and in preparing the regulatory machinery for a swift implementation should the bill pass.

“We now have a team that’s leaning in and we feel like we have to get it done now. Executive action is not enough – period. If one president hated it, this one loves it, we need a Senate and a House that gets legislation passed,” Scott said in a statement.

What is at stake in September is nothing less than the immediate future of the American digital asset industry. Senator Scott’s self-imposed end-of-month deadline for committee action is a critical test of his political capital and his ability to forge a working coalition. 



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