WASHINGTON - Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) released a statement following President Trump's Presidential Memorandum to crack down on foreign contributions in American elections. 

"American elections should always be free from interference - including through foreign funding. President Trump's memorandum today is a big step in the fight to prevent foreign bad actors from funneling illicit money into our elections," said Chairman Steil. "The Committee on House Administration is continuing our work to prevent foreign influence. Thankfully, we have a partner in the White House with President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi at the Department of Justice."

Background:

On October 31, 2023, following reports that ActBlue, a major democratic fundraising platform, was accepting political contributions without a card verification value (CVV), Chairman Steil sent a letter demanding answers on ActBlue's practices, questioning if they are complying with federal campaign finance laws and preventing foreign and illegal contributions.

On November 27, 2023, ActBlue responded to Chairman Steil's letter saying it did not require a CVV in order to contribute on their website.

On September 6, 2024, Chairman Steil introduced H.R. 9488, the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act. The legislation prohibits political committees from accepting an online contribution unless the contributor provides the CVV and billing address associated with the card and from accepting online contributions from prepaid cards. It also adopts a top legislative recommendation from the FEC to prohibit individuals from knowingly aiding or abetting a person making a contribution in the name of another person.

On September 11, 2024, the SHIELD Act passed the Committee on House Administration by a voice-vote.

On September 18, 2024, Chairman Steil sent letters to the Attorneys General from Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri, updating them on the Committee's investigation into ActBlue. Along with the letter, the Attorneys General received the data and evidence that the Committee has collected over the course of almost a year. 

On October 28, 2024, Chairman Steil sent a letter to ActBlue demanding documents and information related to the platform's donor verification policies and potential vulnerabilities that foreign actors may exploit to illegally participate in the U.S. political process.

On October 30, 2024, Chairman Steil issued a subpoena to ActBlue for documents related to ActBlue's donor verification policies and the potential for foreign actors to use the platform to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns.
 
On December 10, 2024, Chairman Steil released findings from his subpoena of ActBlue.

On March 10, Chairman Steil and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer and Rep. Langworthy sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting access to all of the documents previously withheld by the Biden Administration.

On April 2, 2025, the Committee on House Administration, the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a joint interim staff report that revealed ActBlue made its fraud-prevention rules “more lenient” twice in 2024—even though there is extensive fraud on the platform, including from foreign sources.

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