Rep. Steil Introduces Bills to Boost Campaign Finance Transparency, Block Foreign Election Funding

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., introduced a legislative package on Monday to improve transparency and security in campaign finance. The move comes as Democratic payment processor ActBlue faces scrutiny over foreign donations.

Steil's package includes the Campaign Finance Transparency Act and the Preventing Foreign Influence in American Elections Act, Fox News Digital has learned. The first bill would add new transparency rules for organizations that process political donations, such as ActBlue. The second aims to block foreign nationals from funding election-related activities beyond campaign contributions.

A Steil spokesman confirmed to Fox News Digital that the administration committee plans to expedite consideration of the bills.

"My investigation into ActBlue has demonstrated that the current campaign finance laws weren’t drafted for the modern era we live in," Steil told Fox News Digital. "The major gaps we’ve uncovered are being exploited by fraudsters and foreign nationals to make illegal political donations. For example, right now an individual can easily make a fraudulent donation online in someone else’s name and avoid getting caught. That’s an unacceptable vulnerability that bad actors are taking advantage of."

ActBlue faces increased scrutiny from congressional Republicans. The New York Times reported in April, citing leaked internal memos, that the processor’s lawyers warned it may have misled Congress about efforts to stop foreign nationals from donating to American politicians.

"It can be alleged that ActBlue accepted and/or facilitated the acceptance of foreign-national contributions into American elections," one memo reportedly stated. "In addition, because ActBlue’s staff was aware that its system was not as robust as necessary, it could be alleged that these violations were ‘knowing and willful,’ a standard that both increases the penalties the F.E.C. might seek and gives the Justice Department jurisdiction for a potential criminal investigation."

Fox News Digital has not independently confirmed the memos' content. ActBlue denies breaking laws and says its statements to Congress underwent lawyer review. It calls Republican inquiries partisan.

The proposed laws would also apply to WinRed, the conservative counterpart to ActBlue, if passed. An Associated Press investigation in May 2025 found Trump's campaign listed citizenship as "verified" for two of more than 200 donors living abroad who gave through WinRed, many of them.

WinRed and ActBlue did not respond to Fox News Digital requests for comment on Monday.

Republicans argue gift cards let donors hide identities for illegal contributions. ActBlue memos viewed by the Times said the processor sometimes skipped verification documents from foreign donors.

Steil’s Campaign Finance Transparency Act would prohibit gift card donations, require credit or debit card names to match donors, and mandate citizenship or permanent resident checks for those without U.S. addresses.

ActBlue told Congress in an April letter that it no longer processes donations from outside the United States. It previously asked foreign donors for passport numbers with card donations.

Steil’s other bill would stop foreign donors from funding ballot harvesting, voter registration drives, or polls. It would also bar them from helping pay for state or local election administration.

ActBlue sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on May 1 over his investigation. It claims political retaliation. The district judge recently wrote that "the court is tentatively of the opinion" ActBlue will "likely prevail on some, if not all, elements" of its First Amendment claim against Paxton for targeting protected political activity.