The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has been facing a slew of struggles this year, the first under chairman Ken Martin’s leadership, CNN reported Monday.

Martin is grappling with mounting criticism from some members of his own party as the DNC has struggled with lackluster fundraising and growing infighting this year, according to CNN. The report comes after the DNC reported having $15 million on hand by the end of June, compared to the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) $80 million.

Some anonymous sources told CNN that the DNC is also paying former President Joe Biden’s legal expenses for the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into his mental acuity during the time he served in the White House. Biden’s legal fees have already hit hundreds of thousands of dollars, one of the anonymous sources told the outlet.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed 2024 presidential campaign has also racked up millions in debt, CNN reported. Tory Gavito, a Democratic activist and president of Way to Win — a Democratic donor network — told CNN she thinks that the DNC has become “almost irrelevant.”

“The party isn’t where the heart of the movement is,” Gavito told the outlet, instead highlighting recent protest movements such as the far-left, anti-Trump “No Kings” protests in June.

“There is a lot of energy around thinking about what comes next, how to win, and how we govern, and none of it has been sort of captured yet within the party, and so that’s going to be their big charge moving forward,” Gavito added.

Martin said in an interview with CNN that he knew before he stepped into his role as DNC chair that it would be a “thankless job,” adding that the gig is the “political equivalent to being a fire hydrant.”

“You get pissed on by everyone,” Martin told CNN. “You get none of the credit when you win. You get all the blame when you lose. And if you’re doing your job right, you’re saying no more than you’re saying yes.”

“I could give a shit about people right now in terms of people who are pissing on me, because at the end of the day, I have one goal. And that is winning elections,” Martin told the outlet, adding later, “I didn’t run to come here and ask folks in D.C. for permission to do things the same way that they’ve always been done.”

Still, some Democratic state party chairs and other Democrats told CNN they think Martin is doing a good job as DNC chair. Moreover, Martin told CNN he feels “honored” to help cover Biden’s legal expenses for the House Oversight Committee probe.

“It’s the least we could do for his service to our country and to our party,” Martin added.

Stephanie Cutter, who served as a senior adviser to Harris’ presidential campaign, has also been brought on to advise on the DNC’s response to the Oversight Committee investigation, according to CNN.

“Would I prefer not to be in that position? Sure,” Martin told CNN. “But you know, at the same time, this is part of our job and responsibility to help our candidates in their campaigns, and we’ll continue to do that.”

Allison Minnerly, a new Gen Z DNC member from Florida, told CNN that she thinks the committee has become too focused on “general things” that average Americans “would not care about.”

“Whether it’s neutrality clauses or they’re focused on different amendments to our bylaws,” Minnerly, 26, told the outlet, “they’re focused on just general things an everyday person would not care about.”

Some Democrats have expressed concern over an Aug. 20 New York Times report analyzing voter registration data which showed the Democratic Party lost about 2.1 million registered voters between the 2020 and 2024 elections, while the Republican Party added 2.4 million registered voters between 2020 and 2024.

Moreover, an anonymous former DNC officer told CNN that Martin has now “made himself pretty irrelevant” after all the promises he made when he won the DNC’s chairmanship election in February.

“He [Martin] won by playing a lot of small ball — and this is not a time for small ball,” the former DNC officer told CNN. “This is a time for us to be surgical and ruthless, and he’s made himself pretty irrelevant because of all the promises he made.”

Liberal think tank Third Way released a memo Thursday listing 45 words and phrases they want Democrats to steer clear of using because “no ordinary person would ever dream of” saying them. Similarly, some working-class Americans who previously voted Democrat have claimed that they think the Democratic Party is “fighting for everyone else” besides them.

Martin wrote in a February memo that Democrats need to “remind working Americans – and also show them every day – that the Democratic Party always has been and always will be the party of the worker.”

The DNC did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

Ireland Owens

Reporter

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