ActBlue said that Trump’s order was his latest move to “stamp out all political, electoral and ideological opposition.”
President Donald Trump has directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s primary fundraising platform, just months before the 2025 election cycle, in which numerous congressional seats are up for grabs.
Trump’s presidential memorandum comes as Democratic campaigns increasingly depend on ActBlue, which has processed nearly $17 billion in donations for Democratic and progressive causes since its founding in 2004.
“The Trump Administration’s and GOP’s targeting of ActBlue is part of their brazen attack on democracy in America,” ActBlue said in a statement. “Today’s escalation by the White House is blatantly unlawful and needs to be seen for what it is: Donald Trump’s latest front in his campaign to stamp out all political, electoral and ideological opposition.”
Trump’s memorandum instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to “investigate and take appropriate action” regarding the alleged misuse of online fundraising platforms — a far right talking point that campaign finance experts say is exaggerated and based on a misunderstanding of how the Federal Election Commission (FEC) tracks small-dollar donations through platforms like ActBlue and its GOP counterpart, WinRed.
While Trump claims that he is “making elections secure again,” he has recently signed an executive order that would disenfranchise voters and restrict ballot access. A federal judge on Thursday partially blocked that effort, writing in her opinion that, “Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States — not the President — with the authority to regulate federal elections.”
Critics of Trump have said that his order targeting ActBlue is a similar abuse of presidential power. “This is authoritarianism in action,” Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said on X.
Trump’s memorandum targeting ActBlue builds on years of Republican attacks on the fundraising platform that have intensified ahead of the 2025 election. In 2024, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares launched a probe, citing “suspicious” contributions, particularly from elderly donors. In response to Miyares’ probe, ActBlue stated, “This investigation is nothing more than a partisan political attack and scare tactic to undermine the power of Democratic and progressive small-dollar donors.”
In October 2024, Republican Rep. Bryan Steil (Wisconsin) raised concerns about ActBlue’s donor verification process and issued a subpoena demanding internal documents from the campaign financing organization. In a separate case that same year, GOP strategist Mark Block filed a lawsuit alleging that his identity was used to make unauthorized contributions through ActBlue. The lawsuit was later dismissed after evidence showed that the contributions came from a different person who had mistakenly entered Block’s email address.
In March, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (California) urged the Treasury Department to investigate whether ActBlue facilitated donations to “terror-linked organizations and nonprofits.” Issa specifically named the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, making this probe part of a broader campaign targeting pro-Palestinian organizers and advocacy groups.
Recently, Elon Musk — who has referred to himself as Trump’s “best buddy”— has also taken aim at the ActBlue, accusing the fundraising platform of “widespread criminal identity theft,” illegally funding the #TeslaTakedown protests, and violating campaign finance law. Campaign finance experts and Democratic leaders have said that there is no substantial evidence to support these allegations.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin (Maryland) said on Thursday that Trump’s escalation of Republican attacks on ActBlue was carried out “with precisely zero evidence of wrongdoing.” He added, “This president, with his approval ratings underwater and sinking like a stone, is desperately seeking to undermine his political opposition by cutting off their access to funding.”
Since returning to office, Trump has increasingly used federal power to target political opponents and former aides who have criticized him — revoking security clearances, pressuring law firms, directing the DOJ to investigate former officials, and pushing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to go after his rivals. His latest attack on ActBlue appears designed to cut off funding to his political adversaries.
“With its latest abuse of power the White House is providing Democrats with clear affirmative acts every Democrat can do to concretely oppose Trump criminality,” Josh Marshall, founder of Talking Points Memo, said on Bluesky. “Donate THROUGH Act Blue. A [big] part of this new abuse of power is to scare people off from using Act Blue. Keep using it.”
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