They include: The Department of Justice The Department of State The Department of the Treasury The Department of Agriculture The Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) The Department of Education The Department of Heath and Human Services The Department of Commerce The Department of Labor The Small Business Administration (SBA) The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Some explicit political activity by federal employees is prohibited by the Hatch Act, a 1939 law seeking to prevent political influence on the agencies.The use of government websites and employees’ out-of-office messages to blame Democrats for the shutdown is “extraordinarily irresponsible and inappropriate”, said Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel of the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or Crew.“This is clearly behavior that does not comport with ethical guidance,” he said. “Some of it, I think, is illegal. Some of it is not illegal, depending on the law that you’re talking about, but it’s extraordinarily irresponsible and inappropriate.”Sherman said it was possibly “the worst time to be engaged in this kind of partisan chicanery” because many Americans are relying on government websites for information on essential services disrupted by the shutdown.“It’s part of a pattern and practice of politicizing and weaponizing the government in ways that we have not seen before,” he continued, adding: “It’s astonishing, which is saying something for this administration.”Already, Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization, has filed a complaint against the SBA for the message on its webpage blaming Democrats for the shutdown.