The Social Security Administration is facing renewed criticism over official messages praising President Donald Trump shortly before consequential midterm elections. The latest email deepens concerns that an agency responsible for communicating with beneficiaries is being turned into a partisan messaging operation.

Several Democratic senators raised that concern directly with Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano in July. They warned that the agency had sent “unsolicited” messages to Social Security recipients containing misleading statements about Trump.

“You are misusing official resources to heap praise on him,” the senators wrote. Their letter added that the Social Security Administration appeared to be “bombarding Americans with blatantly partisan emails” promoting the president.

The warning apparently did not change the agency’s approach. The Washington Post reported that Bisignano sent an email praising Trump to members of the public only days before the midterm elections.

“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,” Bisignano wrote to people with online Social Security accounts.

The message did not simply provide recipients with practical information about their accounts or benefits. Instead, it presented the Trump administration in glowing language through an official communication channel tied to the Social Security Administration.

A related report from The New York Times said Bisignano also “signed his name on a similar email sent out” by the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday. Trump had tapped Bisignano to lead that agency as well.

Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, told the Times that the emails appeared to function as “propaganda” rather than public service announcements offering practical information. That description fits a broader pattern of official messages praising Trump.

Two weeks before the latest episode, Bisignano sent another message to people with online Social Security accounts. That communication celebrated Trump by name 10 times and used a Republican friendly label for the party’s package of tax breaks from last year.

The Social Security Administration also distributed an unsolicited email in early July celebrating Republican tax breaks. That five paragraph message referred to Trump, either by name or title, six times.

Those communications followed related political emails sent to Social Security beneficiaries in July 2025 and August 2025. Taken together, the episodes have fueled concerns that an ostensibly apolitical agency is being used to deliver repeated partisan promotion.

Martin O’Malley, who served as Social Security commissioner during the Biden administration, condemned the latest message in a statement to MaddowBlog. He described the communication as an unlawful use of Americans’ personal information immediately before an election.

“Social Security is being used as a pro-Trump voter contact platform before this election. It is an illegal misuse of the personal data of every American to deliver falsehoods before the election,” O’Malley said.

The stakes extend beyond one email because Americans need to be able to rely on federal agencies for accurate information without partisan contamination. An unsolicited official statement from the Social Security Administration carries a different weight than a campaign message or one of Trump’s public rants.

Recipients should be able to expect that communications from the agency concern Social Security services, accounts, or benefits. They should not have to wonder whether an official email is attempting to lobby them on behalf of the president or his party.

The growing list of messages shows why the senators’ July warning was so urgent. Rather than stepping away from partisan promotion, the Social Security Administration continued sending communications that praised Trump and elevated Republican policies.

That pattern places public confidence at risk by blurring the line between government information and partisan advertising. When an agency with access to Americans’ personal data becomes another political tool in the White House’s toolbox, every official message becomes harder to trust.