On October 30 and 31, days before the November 3 midterm elections, Americans with online Social Security accounts received an email under the name of Commissioner Frank Bisignano, Newsweek reported. “Under President Donald J. Trump, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is transforming into a model of excellence, one that meets and exceeds customer expectations for fast, accurate, and secure service,” it said.
Bisignano is also chief executive of the IRS, and a separate IRS email praised Trump's economic policies. “Last year, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts, landmark legislation that ushered in a new era of tax relief and prevented the largest tax increase in American history from taking effect,” he wrote, adding: “Hardworking Americans like you are keeping more of what they earn because of President Trump's historic tax cuts.” The email said the IRS “does not generally send e-mails to taxpayers.”
IBTimes UK described “Millions of Americans” as caught up in the controversy and said the SSA has more than 100 million people with online accounts, but it also said the agency has not disclosed how many received the latest messages. The wording of the emails here comes from The New York Times as relayed by Newsweek and The Hill; the tracker did not read the Times article or see the emails themselves.
The messages may violate the Hatch Act, a 1939 law restricting certain partisan political activity by federal employees, experts told the Times. Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor and former ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush White House, told the Times, “They're doing it just before the election to persuade people that President Trump is doing a good job.” Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said they appeared to function as “propaganda” rather than public service announcements.
No ruling has found a violation. Newsweek noted there has been “no official ruling” that Bisignano or the SSA broke the law, and whether a particular communication violates the statute depends on the circumstances. Newsweek and The Hill said they had asked the agencies for comment; neither reported a response.
It was not the first such message. In July, five Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, challenged Bisignano over a July 2 SSA email that they said named Trump six times, calling it “a partisan, politicized message” and accusing him of “abusing the millions of email addresses” the agency holds, Newsweek reported. IBTimes UK also reported that the IRS emailed families in late October urging them to sign up for Trump Accounts. For other government-funded promotion of the president, see Pro-Trump TV Ads 'Paid for by the U.S. Government' Are Running on Customs and Border Protection Money, One a 2024 Campaign Spot; for another Hatch Act dispute before the midterms, see Wyden Files a Hatch Act Complaint After RFK Jr. Personally Called Iowa Libertarians to Push Them Out of Congressional Races.