The U.S. Department of Education faces lawsuits from federal employee unions contesting mandated partisan out-of-office email messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. These actions raise First Amendment concerns as employees claim their messages were altered without consent. At the same time, Education Department moves to resume income-based student loan forgiveness face delays due to workforce furloughs and continuing legal challenges. The federal shutdown disrupts critical education services and heightens operational uncertainty, underscoring tensions between administration directives and employee rights.