Social Security emails praising Trump days before midterms raise Hatch Act questions

The Social Security Administration (SSA) sent emails praising President Donald Trump to people with online accounts on Friday and Saturday, days before the midterm elections, according to a New York Times report summarized by Raw Story ¹. The emails went out under the name of Commissioner Frank Bisignano ¹.

Several legal experts told the Times the praise and its timing appeared to potentially violate the Hatch Act ¹. That is an 87-year-old law meant to keep executive-branch employees from using their jobs to influence partisan elections ¹. No ruling has found that it was broken.

What the experts said

Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said the email seemed to work as propaganda rather than a public service announcement ¹. Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor, said the email was timed to persuade people that Trump is doing a good job before the election ¹. He said he thought it was inappropriate ¹.

Clark said the email reminded her of a television ad campaign the administration ran this fall promoting Trump's presidency ¹. Some experts have said that campaign could also have violated the Hatch Act ¹.

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The SSA did not immediately respond to the Times' request for comment, and the report includes no agency response ¹.

Not the first email

MaddowBlog on MS NOW counted an Oct. 22 message as the fourth unsolicited political email SSA has sent to beneficiaries ². Earlier ones went out in July 2025 and August 2025, along with an early-July email ². The early-July email referred to Trump six times in five paragraphs ².

The Oct. 22 email promoted the Republican tax law, now called the Working Families Tax Cuts law, and Trump Accounts ². It said "Today, nearly 70 million Trump Accounts are open for all American children." ² It used Trump's surname 10 times in a short message ².

In a July letter to Bisignano, several Democratic senators called the messages "unsolicited" and wrote, "You are misusing official resources to heap praise on him." ² They also said SSA appeared to be "bombarding Americans with blatantly partisan emails." ²

What happens next

Neither report says whether a complaint is pending over the latest emails, and neither says any enforcement action is planned ¹².

That matters because older Americans rely on SSA for their monthly checks and for accurate information about them. The MS NOW author argued that the public needs to be able to rely on apolitical federal agencies for accurate information ². Voting ends Tuesday.

The Record

1. Jul 2, 2026SSA sent an unsolicited email referring to Trump six times in five paragraphs; Democratic senators wrote Bisignano in July ².
2. Oct 22, 2026SSA sent a fourth political email, touting Trump Accounts and using Trump's surname 10 times ².
3. Oct 30, 2026SSA emailed online account holders on Friday and Saturday praising Trump under Bisignano's name ¹.

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<h2>Social Security emails praising Trump days before midterms raise Hatch Act questions</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Investigations Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/social-security-emails-praising-trump-days-before-midterms-raise-hatch-act-questions">The GOP Files</a> on Sunday, November 1, 2026.</em></p> <p>The Social Security Administration (SSA) sent emails praising President Donald Trump to people with online accounts on Friday and Saturday, days before the midterm elections, according to a New York Times report summarized by Raw Story . The emails went out under the name of Commissioner Frank Bisignano .</p> <p>Several legal experts told the Times the praise and its timing appeared to potentially violate the Hatch Act . That is an 87-year-old law meant to keep executive-branch employees from using their jobs to influence partisan elections . No ruling has found that it was broken.</p> <h2>What the experts said</h2> <p>Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said the email seemed to work as propaganda rather than a public service announcement . Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor, said the email was timed to persuade people that Trump is doing a good job before the election . He said he thought it was inappropriate .</p> <p>Clark said the email reminded her of a television ad campaign the administration ran this fall promoting Trump&#39;s presidency . Some experts have said that campaign could also have violated the Hatch Act .</p> <p>The SSA did not immediately respond to the Times&#39; request for comment, and the report includes no agency response .</p> <h2>Not the first email</h2> <p>MaddowBlog on MS NOW counted an Oct. 22 message as the fourth unsolicited political email SSA has sent to beneficiaries . Earlier ones went out in July 2025 and August 2025, along with an early-July email . The early-July email referred to Trump six times in five paragraphs .</p> <p>The Oct. 22 email promoted the Republican tax law, now called the Working Families Tax Cuts law, and Trump Accounts . It said &quot;Today, nearly 70 million Trump Accounts are open for all American children.&quot; It used Trump&#39;s surname 10 times in a short message .</p> <p>In a July letter to Bisignano, several Democratic senators called the messages &quot;unsolicited&quot; and wrote, &quot;You are misusing official resources to heap praise on him.&quot; They also said SSA appeared to be &quot;bombarding Americans with blatantly partisan emails.&quot;</p> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>Neither report says whether a complaint is pending over the latest emails, and neither says any enforcement action is planned .</p> <p>That matters because older Americans rely on SSA for their monthly checks and for accurate information about them. The MS NOW author argued that the public needs to be able to rely on apolitical federal agencies for accurate information . Voting ends Tuesday.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/social-security-emails-praising-trump-days-before-midterms-raise-hatch-act-questions">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/social-security-emails-praising-trump-days-before-midterms-raise-hatch-act-questions.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Raw Story, “Experts sound alarm as Social Security sends users possibly illegal Trump love letter” (2026-11-01). rawstory.com/trump-social-security-2678179258/
2. MS NOW (MaddowBlog), “Social Security Administration pushes yet another Trump-centric message as elections approach” (2026-10-22). ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/social-security-adminis

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