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Common Cause, a national, nonpartisan government watchdog, filed 54 separate complaints against the Trump Administration for violating the Hatch Act, the Anti-Deficiency Act, and the Anti-Lobbying Act—a volume of filings that underscores the breakdown of federal ethics oversight, a system never built to confront coordinated abuses of public power at this scale. The watchdog issued these complaints after an extensive audit revealed hyper-partisan language and political messaging criticizing the Democratic Party and President Donald Trump’s political opponents. 

“The American people deserve a president focused on improving their lives, not one who turns government communications into a partisan campaign megaphone,” said Omar Noureldin, senior vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause. “The fact that we had to file 54 separate complaints across multiple oversight bodies to address one coordinated and flagrant pattern of misconduct shows just how broken our accountability system is. The system is fragmented, outdated, and not fit for purpose when faced with the scale of coordinated abuse.”

The complaints allege administration officials violated appropriation laws by using appropriated federal funds to disseminate hyper-partisan messaging during the government shutdown. Some examples include referencing “the Democrat-led government shutdown” on websites for the Centers for Disease Control, attacking the president’s opponents via mass emails to government employees, and more….