DNC chair faces growing scrutiny amid financial pressure and internal turmoil

Fraught time for Ken Martin as new reporting details cash-flow problem and divisions over party’s direction

Mounting financial pressures and growing internal turmoil at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have intensified scrutiny of chair Ken Martin, as new reporting detailed a deepening cash-flow problem, management concerns and widening divisions over the party’s direction less than 100 days before the November midterm elections.

The latest reporting has underscored both the committee’s financial distress and the toll it has taken on Martin personally. The New York Times reported that the embattled DNC chair, who took the helm last year, became the subject of an internal HR inquiry after throwing his phone in the direction of a junior aide’s desk during a heated exchange in early July, prompting a formal complaint. The Times, citing people familiar with the matter, also reported that the incident nearly cost him his job and has contributed to growing isolation with the party as the committee grapples with mounting financial strain.

The latest revelations include that the DNC put its physical Washington DC headquarters up for collateral last year in order to obtain a $15m line of credit to help invest in off-year elections, Notus reported, citing Washington DC deed records . The New York Times separately reported that the DNC is about $2m in debt, compared with roughly $130m cash on hand held by the Republican National Committee.

The committee argued that the arrangement was “not new” and that it had done so to secure loans previously. However, one DNC member told the outlet: “Ken is gaslighting us about the DNC’s finances and not being transparent about the financial situation makes us doubt if he can oversee the DNC during the most important primary of our lifetime.”

Another Democrat close to Martin told Notus he had struggled to convince donors to maximize their contributions, which had contributed to the small cash-on-hand total.

Adding to the party’s financial woes, the Times reported that the DNC had asked vendors not to send invoices until after the midterm elections in November.

Roger Lau, the executive director of the DNC, told the Times in a statement that the bill-deferral discussions were “nothing more than standard negotiations with vendors over contracts and payment processes”.

It’s an increasingly fraught time for Martin, whose tenure has been marked by turbulence almost since the start, when he became embroiled in a public spat with then vice-chair David Hogg. Their philosophical disagreement proved irreconcilable and Hogg eventually quit.

Faith in Martin’s leadership had eroded further following his botched handling of a long-promised autopsy of the 2024 election that ultimately failed to address what actually went wrong for the party – from Gaza to the Biden-Harris transition. The release in May prompted a round of calls for Martin’s resignation.

Last week, Martin defended the state of the DNC’s finances in an op-ed on Substack , writing that the committee had made the “conscious decision” to spend the cash it raises on “electoral assets” rather than stockpiling resources.

He said the DNC had “done exceptionally better with high-net worth donors”, citing an increase of donations from major donors relative to comparable years. “We must measure success by power built, not simply dollars retained,” he added.

But some veteran Democratic fundraisers remain unconvinced. In a Substack essay published on Monday, former Democratic finance chair and former US ambassador Rufus Gifford argued the party’s financial problems stem from a broader collapse in donor confidence.

“I think there is no saving Martin’s chairmanship,” Gifford wrote, arguing that the “two main jobs” of the DNC chair were to “raise money and message relentlessly on every form of media”. The committee, he warned, was at risk of becoming “irrelevant” unless it found a way to restore donor trust and rebuild its national fundraising operation before the 2028 presidential campaign.

The reports renewed calls for Martin to step aside, which he has firmly resisted.

“Ken Martin must resign,” Congressman Sam Liccardo, a California Democrat, wrote on X . “As Democrats, we have become too captured by failing strategies. We must fail forward, and pivot. The urgency of this moment will not reward – and our children will not forgive – torpidity.”

But at a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, expressed confidence in Martin, telling reporters covering the rally that the DNC chair had his “full support”.