House Democrats, led by Reps. Jared Huffman and Joseph Morelle, have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate whether pro-Trump operatives used data from anniversary events to help Republicans in the midterm elections. The request comes after it was discovered that online forms used to register for events such as the Great American State Fair and Patriot Games collected attendees' personal information, which was then shared with Campaign Nucleus, a firm tied to Trump's campaign apparatus. Freedom 250, the group responsible for planning anniversary events, has received at least $86 million in federal funds intended for nonpartisan celebrations. The GAO will examine whether this data was used to tip the scales in favor of Republican candidates.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-09,
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Story summary
Representatives Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.) have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate how the Trump administration handled personal data collected from Americans who signed up for events celebrating the country's 250th anniversary. When registering for events like the Great American State Fair and the July 4 fireworks show in Washington, attendees provided their phone numbers, email addresses, and ZIP codes, which were handed over to a private vendor called Campaign Nucleus. This company has close ties to Trump's campaign apparatus and was hired by Freedom 250, a group set up by Trump operatives to plan anniversary events. The Democrats claim that this data collection could be used to tip the scales in the upcoming midterm elections, and they are seeking an investigation into how this information is being used.
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This summer, the Trump administration celebrated the country’s 250th anniversary with a series of splashy events that it insisted were nonpartisan.
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it → celebrate → events
Tens of thousands of Americans signed up online to grab free tickets for gatherings like the Great American State Fair, the July 4 fireworks show in Washington, and the Patriot Games in Ohio.
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thousands → sign → Ohio
When they registered to attend those festivities, online forms requested their phone numbers, email address and ZIP codes.
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forms → register → numbers
But few attendees likely realized that they were handing over their personal information to a private vendor that also works for Trump-linked political organizations.
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that → realize → organizations
Campaign Nucleus—one of several firms owned by former Trump campaign official Brad Parscale—provided the forms used to register for high-profile semiquincentennial events this year.
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Nucleus → own → events
Campaign Nucleus is one of various vendors with close ties to Trump’s campaign apparatus that was hired by Freedom 250, the group set up last year to help Trump control planning for the anniversary.
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that → hire → anniversary
Rushing to stage the kinds of high-profile events Trump wanted, the operatives running Freedom 250, who are themselves veterans of Trump campaigns, doled out large contracts to fellow MAGA insiders for event planning, public relations, and digital support.
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who → rush → planning
As Mother Jones has detailed, much of this was on American taxpayers’ dime.
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much → detail → dime
Citing the cozy ties between annivesarry planners and GOP campaign efforts, House Democrats in a letter Tuesday asked the Government Accountability Office—the investigative arm of Congress—to examine whether pro-Trump political operatives have used data generated from the anniversary events to help Republicans in November.
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operatives → cite → November
“President Trump and his allies are in a position to use information on American voters, harvested with taxpayer money and government resources, in an attempt to tip the scales in the upcoming midterm elections,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Joseph Morelle (D.-N.Y.), the top Democrats on the House Natural Resources and House Adminstration committees, respectively, wrote in a letter Tuesday asking the GAO to investigate.
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Huffman → use → GAO
USA Today reported in July that Americans seeking tickets to the Great American State Fair had to fill out forms that required them to submit their emails and phone numbers.
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that → report → emails
Registrants also encountered a link to 45.donaldjtrump.com, a site that solicited donations to the pro-Trump political action committee Never Surrender.
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that → encounter → committee
Freedom250 has said this link was included in error.
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link → say → error
But the Democrats’ letter said the committee found that an account used to sign up for the fair continued to receive emails seeking donations for Never Surrender for weeks.
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account → say → weeks
Huffman and Morelle said these solicitations represent “a stunning misuse of Freedom 250 resources.”
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solicitations → say → resources
Freedom 250 has received at least $86 million in federal funds intended for nonpartisan anniversary celebrations.
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Freedom → receive → celebrations
The emails mean “that either Freedom 250 is so closely tied to the Trump campaign that it is using the campaign PAC’s email for its own regular business purposes, or that Freedom 250’s mailing list has already been shared with the Trump campaign and the campaign is utilizing it for outreach,” the Democrats argued.
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Democrats → mean → outreach
“In either scenario, it is clear that Freedom 250 and the Trump campaign are co-mingling their activities and using Freedom 250’s collected data to point registrants to a campaign PAC’s website.”
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Freedom → co → website
“A national contact list assembled at taxpayer expense, enriched with geolocation and behavioral data and scored for persuadability, is an asset of extraordinary value to a party heading into a midterm election,” the lawmakers said.
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lawmakers → assemble → election
Freedom 250 is a limited liability company set up under the National Park Foundation, a nonprofit that is itself run by the Interior Department.
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that → set → Department
This unusual structure has so far enabled the group to mostly avoid congressional scrutiny, including over its data policies.
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structure → enable → policies
“It is unclear what safeguards exist to prevent data collected by Freedom 250 from migrating to Freedom 250’s political allies,” the lawmakers wrote.
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lawmakers → exist → allies
Parscale’s companies did not respond to inquiries from Mother Jones about how they handle personal information provided by Americans who signed up for Freedom 250 events.
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who → respond → events
A Freedom 250 spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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spokesperson → respond → comment
Freedom 250 also sells anniversary-themed merchandise through an online store operated by another Trump campaign-linked vendor, Ace Specialties.
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Freedom → sell → vendor
Ace touts itself as a former official merchandise site for Trump’s campaigns and as a premier provider of apparel “for Republicans.”
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Ace → tout → Republicans
Through its online storefront on Freedom 250’s site, Ace “collects billing and mailing addresses” when orders are placed, information that “could easily be offered as a product” to the Republican National Committee or pro-Trump PACS, the Democratic members of Congress wrote.
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members → collect → Congress
The lawmakers did not provide evidence indicating ACE had actually provided consumer information to any Republican-aligned entities.
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ACE → provide → entities
Ace also sells Freedom 250 pins.
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Ace → sell → pins
As Mother Jones has reported, National Park Service officials ordered many agency employees to wear those pins at public events this summer and encouraged federal employees to buy them in bulk from the Louisiana-based company.
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officials → report → company
Ace’s CEO did not respond to an inquiry.
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CEO → respond → inquiry
This story has been updated with information abut Ace Specialities.
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story → update → Specialities
