DNC chair Ken Martin faces scrutiny over finances and internal criticism

Internal HR inquiry launched after phone-throwing incident; party $2 million in debt

The Democratic National Committee is grappling with a deepening cash-flow problem and growing internal dissent as chair Ken Martin faces scrutiny over his leadership and the party’s financial health less than 100 days before the November midterm elections. The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Martin became the subject of an internal human resources inquiry after he threw his phone in the direction of a junior aide’s desk during a heated exchange in early July, prompting a formal complaint. The incident nearly cost him his job, the Times reported, and has contributed to what the newspaper described as growing isolation for Martin within the party.

The DNC’s financial situation has drawn particular concern. The committee put its physical Washington, D.C. headquarters up as collateral last year to obtain a $15 million line of credit to help invest in off-year elections, according to Notus, which cited D.C. deed records. The New York Times separately reported that the DNC is about $2 million in debt, compared with roughly $130 million in cash on hand held by the Republican National Committee.

The committee argued that the arrangement was “not new” and that it had taken similar steps to secure loans previously, the Times reported. 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 that he has struggled to convince donors to maximize their contributions, which 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.”

Martin’s tenure has been marked by turbulence since almost the start. He became embroiled in a public spat with then vice-chair David Hogg, whose philosophical disagreement proved irreconcilable, leading Hogg to quit. Faith in Martin’s leadership eroded further following his handling of a long-promised autopsy of the 2024 election that, according to the Times, ultimately failed to address what went wrong for the party — including issues related to Gaza and the Biden-Harris transition. The release in May prompted calls for Martin’s resignation.

Last week, Martin defended the state of the DNC’s finances in a Substack op-ed, writing that the committee made a “conscious decision” to spend the cash it raises on “electoral assets” rather than stockpiling resources. He said the DNC “has done exceptionally better with high-net worth donors,” citing an increase in donations from major donors relative to comparable years. “We must measure success by power built, not simply dollars retained,” he wrote.

But some veteran Democratic fundraisers remain unconvinced. In a Substack essay published Monday, former Democratic finance chair and former U.S. ambassador Rufus Gifford argued that 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.”

However, at a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed confidence in Martin, telling reporters that the DNC chair had his “full support.”