The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s banner about the October government shutdown on October 23, 2025 (left), and October 26, 2025 (right).
Highlights from the Change Log: Federal Agencies Post Incendiary Banners About the Government Shutdown
Welcome! This post is part of the EDGI Website Governance Team’s “Highlights from the Change Log” blog series. The purpose of this series is to highlight interesting changes we have observed in the content of, or access to, federal websites. We want to share these changes to encourage public engagement with and discussion of their significance, as well as understanding of the ephemeral nature of website information. These website changes happened in October 2025 and feature various incendiary banners about the October government shutdown.
On October 1, 2025, the government shut down due to a lapse in funding. While it is customary for agencies to post informational banners on their websites during such occasions, some federal agencies have used the banners to accuse Democrats and the “Radical Left” of perpetrating the shutdown. With our colleagues at the Internet Archive, we checked 101 agency website homepages to catalog which agencies posted neutral content and which posted partisan and inflammatory language.
Agencies Accusing the Radical Left
Several agencies have posted website banners blaming the “Radical Left” for the government shutdown, employing the aggressive rhetoric that has come to define the Trump administration’s public communications. These include the Treasury Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture (USDA), and agencies within USDA such as the US Forest Service. While the banners differ slightly between agencies, many begin with “The Radical Left has shut down the government” and subsequently employ language that is not only partisan but also disparaging and contemptuous. Among these agencies’ banners, the USDA’s has been particularly incendiary. Starting October 1, the USDA homepage featured a banner stating:
Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.
Between October 23 and 26, the USDA updated its homepage message with even more partisan, inflammatory, and factually incorrect information, stating:
Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.
It is important to note that these claims by the USDA are false: (1) the Democratic budget proposal does not include health care coverage for undocumented immigrants; and (2) “gender mutilation” does not exist, but harkens to the abusive practice of genital mutilation as a means to deride gender-affirming health care.
Given the USDA communications office recently settled a lawsuit about its directive to remove climate change information from its website, it is notable that it also chose to post the most incendiary language of any agency across the federal government about the shutdown.
Agencies Accusing Democrats
In addition to the handful of agencies asserting that the “Radical Left” has caused the shutdown, several others also accuse Democrats. The Trump administration’s whitehouse.gov website, the Office of Management and Budget, Department of State, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and agencies within HHS (such as the CDC and FDA) all refer to the shutdown as “Democrat-led” or state that the Democrats have shut down the government.
This pointedly partisan language may violate the 1939 Hatch Act, though according to Snopes, experts’ opinions vary on this matter. However, regardless of legality, these website changes have substantial implications for the public perception of the government as partisan and dysfunctional.
Neutral messaging by most agencies
Despite the incendiary rhetoric of the agencies listed above, the majority of federal agencies have followed precedent by posting website banners with politically neutral language alerting the public to the fact that there is currently a government shutdown and the agency website will not be updated. This purely factual information is customary and important for building public awareness.
Agencies that have posted banners with neutral language about the shutdown include agencies throughout the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, and Department of Transportation.
Some agencies have not posted banners on their website homepages about the government shutdown. Surprisingly, these include the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, General Services Administration, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US Embassy, and US Marshals.