Trump orders investigation of ActBlue, the main platform for Democratic donations

President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate online fundraising platforms for possible "schemes to launder excessive and prohibited contributions." Although the order took aim at platforms in general, the president singled out one: ActBlue, a vital source of Democratic Party revenue.

Founded in 2004, ActBlue collects funds from small donors for left-wing causes, financing everything from the coffers of progressive NGOs to election campaigns, such as the recent candidacy of Kamala Harris or the current campaign of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to win back her seat in 2026. In sum, it claims to have pocketed more than $16 billion in 20 years.

A report from several House committees, cited by Trump in his recent order, claims that internal company documents revealed 22 "significant fraud campaigns." It also reported "multiple incidents" in which its controls were insufficient, and accused it of taking a "unserious approach to fraud prevention."

In particular, the president asked to put the magnifying glass on two irregularities: foreign donations and "straw" donations.

The former refer to citizens of other countries who "improperly influence American elections." In a part of the House report, remarked by the president, it is assured that during the past presidential election ActBlue detected 237 donations from foreign IP addresses, using prepaid cards, in a period of 30 days.

The latter allude to the distribution of money from the same source in several small contributions, with the aim of evading federal regulations on the amounts and origin of the payments. Small donations sometimes, Trump claims, are attributed to people who are unaware that their identity is being used for that purpose.

ActBlue defends itself... and asks for donations

The platform protested the decision. And, unsurprisingly, it seized on it to ask for donations. "The Trump Administration is targeting ActBlue! But nothing will deter or interrupt our work to enable millions of Americans to participate in our democracy," its website reads.

The Democratic Party also came out in defense of its fundraising platform, accusing the Republican of wanting to "undermine democratic participation." "[Trump] knows Americans are already fed up with his chaotic agenda that is driving the economy off a cliff, so he's trying to block lawful grassroots donations from supporters giving just $5 or $10 to candidates who oppose him while further empowering the corrupt billionaires who already control his administration," the party claimed in a statement.

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego rushed supporters to donate to his campaign via the website while you still can, replicating the party's message that Trump fears "$15 donations will beat his billionaire buddies."

Other investigations

The president isn't the only one with ActBlue in his sights. According to The New York Times, some of its former employees received letters last week urging them to testify before Republican congressional committees. After welcoming Trump's order, Rep. Bryan Steil, chairman of one of the three committees behind the named report, vowed to continue "our work to prevent foreign influence" in elections.

Rep. Andy Biggs, meanwhile, sent a letter to the FBI earlier this month asking it to investigate ActBlue, claiming there were allegations that it had funneled funds from China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. He also claimed that 19 attorneys general were conducting inquiries of their own into possible wrongdoing.

Elon Musk, heading the Department of Government Efficiency, threw his hat into the debate in recent hours, asserting that the fundraising platform was "guilty of widespread criminal identity theft." He offered no further details, at least for the time being.