Trump Admin Uses Department Websites To Troll Democrats Over Shutdown

Federal departments under the Trump administration posted shutdown notices on their websites Wednesday blaming Democrats after the U.S. government shut down early that morning.

These notices were posted after Congress was unable to pass a funding bill by the midnight deadline, triggering a shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1. The Senate voted 55-45 on a stopgap bill passed by the House of Representatives late Tuesday, thereby missing the 60-vote threshold. (RELATED: Trump, Congress Deadlock Triggers First Government Shutdown Since 2019)

On the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website, a big red notice pops up stating, “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”

The Department of Justice issued a statement of its own. “Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated. Please refer to the Department of Justice’s contingency plan for more information,” the posting read.

Welp. That was quick. pic.twitter.com/8u2iGfuNbL

— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) October 1, 2025

The Small Business Administration also shared a template for automated out-of-office replies to employees facing furlough, suggesting workers use words blaming Democrats for the shutdown, according to an email obtained by Politico.

“I am out of office for the foreseeable future because Senate Democrats voted to block a clean federal funding bill (H.R. 5371) leading to a government shutdown that is preventing the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from serving America’s 36 million small businesses,” it read.

President Donald Trump met with congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle Monday to address the then-looming shutdown, but those talks ultimately failed, NBC News reported.

The Daily Caller reached out to the White House for comment and first received an automated response. “Due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays. We ask for your patience as our staff work to field your requests in a timely manner. As you await a response, please remember this could have been avoided if the Democrats voted for the clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open. The press office also cannot accommodate waves requests or escorts at this time. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” it read.

A White House spokesperson later issued another statement to the Caller. “It’s an objective fact that Democrats are responsible for the government shutdown, the Trump administration is simply sharing the truth with the American people,” the spokesperson said.