Labor Department Under Fire for Nazi-Reminiscent Social Media Post

The Trump administration’s Department of Labor has sparked widespread criticism after posting language on social media that closely resembles Nazi propaganda slogans, the latest in what observers describe as a pattern of white nationalist messaging from federal agencies.

On Saturday, the Labor Department’s official social media account posted: “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American.” The message accompanied a video featuring an image of George Washington superimposed over historical American war paintings and propaganda posters.

Critics immediately noted the striking similarity to the infamous Nazi slogan “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer” (“One People, One Nation, One Leader”), a phrase that appeared prominently on Hitler-era propaganda posters throughout Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.

“We are governed by proud Neo-Nazis,” responded Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief of Zeteo, in a widely shared reaction to the post.

The controversial message isn’t an isolated incident but part of what appears to be a coordinated shift in messaging across multiple federal agencies under the current administration. The Labor Department in particular has published numerous posts emphasizing support specifically for U.S.-born Americans, raising concerns about the agency’s stance toward immigrant workers.

In December, the department repeatedly touted claims that “100 percent of net job growth” during Trump’s second term had gone to American-born citizens. The agency went so far as to share a screenshot from Breitbart with the headline: “ALL NET JOB GROWTH GOING TO AMERICANS AS FOREIGN-BORN EMPLOYMENT KEEPS DECLINING.” Labor market experts have described these claims as misleading at best, while critics note they imply that immigrants who weren’t born in the U.S. aren’t truly American.

This messaging aligns with concrete policy actions. Last year, the administration used the Department of Labor as a key component in its campaign to restrict H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreign workers to fill specialty occupations in the United States. Though presented as protecting American workers, these visas are typically only granted for positions requiring specialized skills not readily available in the domestic workforce.

The shift in tone extends beyond the Labor Department. The Southern Poverty Law Center recently analyzed Department of Homeland Security communications and found it “utilizes white nationalist and anti-immigrant images and slogans in recruitment materials.” Their analysis revealed that DHS recruitment materials “feature white people almost exclusively,” while social media posts “disproportionately” show Black and Brown people accused of immigration violations.

Most concerning to civil rights observers, the SPLC found that “in some cases, the images and language appear to come directly from antisemitic and neo-Nazi publications and a white Christian nationalist website.”

The Labor Department’s social media activity has also included other content reflecting nationalist sentiments, including Bible verses on Christmas Eve and repeated messages promoting “patriotism over globalism,” phrases that have gained currency in far-right political circles.

These developments come as part of what critics describe as the administration’s “all-of-government approach” to implementing restrictive immigration policies. The use of official government channels to distribute messaging with links to extremist ideologies has raised alarms among civil liberties organizations, government ethics experts, and historians familiar with the propaganda techniques of authoritarian regimes.

As scrutiny of these communications increases, questions remain about oversight of federal agency messaging and the long-term implications of nationalist rhetoric emanating from official government sources.