NEW YORK — As President Donald Trump pushes the historical boundaries of executive power, some of the Democratic Party’s core political institutions are preparing for the possibility that the federal government may soon launch criminal investigations against them.

The Democrats’ dominant national fundraising platform, ActBlue, and the party’s largest protest group, Indivisible, are working with their attorneys for just such a scenario, according to officials within both organizations. Trump’s top political allies have suggested both groups should face prosecution.

Other Democratic allies are planning for Trump-backed legal crackdowns as well. Wary of antagonizing the president, most prefer to stay anonymous for now.

“Every one of our clients is concerned about being arbitrarily targeted by the Trump administration. We are going to great lengths to help clients prepare for or defend themselves,” said Ezra Reese, political law chair at Elias Law Group, which represents Democratic groups and candidates and is chaired by Marc Elias, the lawyer who has himself been a Trump target.

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment when asked about potential investigations into ActBlue and Indivisible. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not downplay the threat of a potential criminal probe when asked specifically whether Trump wants the FBI, the Treasury Department or any other federal agency to investigate Democratic groups.

“Anyone who has (not) broken the law should not be worried,” Leavitt told The Associated Press. “If you have broken the law and engaged in the weaponization of justice, then you should be worried. It’s that simple.”

Indeed, far from distancing themselves from talk of retribution, many key Republicans are embracing it.

Trump’s allies argue they are justified in seeking vengeance due to the four criminal prosecutions against Trump, one of which led to multiple felony convictions in New York. There’s no evidence former President Joe Biden influenced the Trump prosecutions in any way.

Matt Schlapp, president of the American Conservative Union, said Democrats needed to be taught not to touch a hot stove.

“Someone needs to get burned for all this activity or they’re just gonna do it again,” he said. “And that’s not hypocrisy; that’s justice.”

Trump has made no secret of his plans to use the power of the federal government to target domestic political adversaries.

During a norm-breaking speech at the Department of Justice last month, Trump cast himself as the country’s “chief law enforcement officer,” a title ordinarily reserved for the attorney general.

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Justice Department to investigate Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security official who anonymously penned a book highly critical of his first presidency. Trump said that Taylor was likely guilty of treason, a crime that can carry the death penalty.

Indivisible has been perhaps the most important group in the Democratic resistance since Trump returned to the White House. The group’s leadership in Washington holds regular calls with state-based activists and recently released a detailed protest guide, which offers specific guidance to hundreds of local chapters across the country.

This year alone, Indivisible groups have hosted more than 1,000 protests covering every state in the nation. The group was a key organizer in the recent Hands Off! protests that attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

Trump top adviser and billionaire Elon Musk has publicly condemned Indivisible as “criminals.”

The statement was an apparent reference to violent attacks against Tesla dealerships and vehicles, which have spiked in recent weeks. Indivisible’s leadership released a guide earlier in the year encouraging protests outside Tesla dealerships, although the guide instructs protesters to remain peaceful and stay off private property.

No charges are known to have been filed against Indivisible or its leaders. But Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin says it’s critical that Democratic institutions work together to speak out against the threats posed by the Trump administration. His organization has been discussing contingency plans with attorneys and other activists in the event that he or other Indivisible leaders face criminal charges.

“They may try to come at us directly, or it’s as likely that their non-state actors are inspired by their lies and propaganda, and try to come at us individually,” Levin said. “And that is a risk in a moment where you’re facing anti-democratic threats like we are.”

“Our choice is, we can be quiet and hope that they won’t target us, or we can try to work as a mass opposition,” he continued. “If you’re not willing to do that, what are you doing here?”

Musk, backed by several Republican members of Congress, has also called on the FBI to investigate ActBlue, alleging that the Democratic Party’s main fundraising platform has skirted campaign finance laws and allowed foreign nationals to make illegal contributions to Democratic candidates.

“I think the FBI’s going to do something on ActBlue soon,” Charlie Kirk, a key Trump ally who founded the conservative group Turning Point USA, said at a political event last month in Wisconsin.

ActBlue officials this week told the AP that they would continue to cooperate with a congressional investigation led by House Republicans into allegations of fraud within the organization. ActBlue is preparing a second batch of documents to comply with a new request by House Republicans. Additionally, two ActBlue staffers are expected to testify before a House panel behind closed doors later this month.

Multiple House Republicans in recent weeks have encouraged federal law enforcement agencies to pursue requested criminal investigations into ActBlue.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has asked the Treasury Department to investigate allegations that the nonprofit processed payments to “terror-linked organizations.” Separately, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., sent a letter to the FBI last month claiming that ActBlue is being used to “to skirt the integrity of federal campaign finance laws” by allowing foreign nationals to contribute to campaigns, among other allegations of criminal wrongdoing.

“It must be emphasized that these allegations, were they to prove true, would indicate a serious threat to the integrity of our elections, besides the victimization of American citizens,” Biggs wrote.

ActBlue said it is preparing for the possibility of “many different attacks on various fronts,” including investigations by the FBI or the Treasury Department.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidates are relying on ActBlue to fund their campaigns as never before.

Donors have given more than $400 million to Democratic candidates through ActBlue over the first three months of the year, the organization told the AP. The fundraising haul represents the most money raised in any first quarter in ActBlue’s two-decade history.

While Republicans accuse the group of being funded by wealthy donors, ActBlue acts as a passthrough between donors and candidates that’s funded by a 3.95% processing fee on each donation.

“These unfounded attacks haven’t shaken us — they’ve sharpened our resolve to fuel Democratic wins,” ActBlue spokesperson Megan Hughes said. “As our first-quarter fundraising demonstrates, Democratic grassroots donors are engaged, undeterred and ready to meet this moment.”

Leavitt is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from the AP on First- and Fifth Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

WASHINGTON — After a long wait, the Senate is launching action on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts at a risky moment for the U.S. and global economy.

More than a month after House Republicans surprised Washington by advancing their framework for Trump’s $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts, Senate Republicans voted Thursday to start working on their version. The largely party-line vote, 52-48, sets the stage for a potential Senate all-nighter Friday spilling into the weekend.

But work on the multitrillion-dollar package is coming as markets at home and abroad are on edge in the aftermath Trump’s vast tariffs scheme, complicating an already difficult political and procedural undertaking on what Republicans hope will become their signature domestic policy package.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., opened the chamber Thursday saying they expected to be ready to begin.

Trump says he’s on board with the plan and Republicans, in control of Congress, are eager to show the party is making progress toward delivering on their campaign promises. By nightfall, as voting began, one Republican, the libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against, as did all Democrats.

Democrats, as the minority party, don’t have the votes to stop the GOP plan. But they intend to use the procedural tools available to prolong the process. Democrats argue that Republicans are focusing on tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of the programs and services millions of Americans rely on for help with health care, child care, school lunches and other everyday needs.

“They’re mean, they’re nasty, they’re uncaring,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said about the Republicans. “We, tonight and tomorrow, are going to show just who they are.”

Senate Democrats started consuming up to 25 hours of their available debate time, holding the floor into the night and railing against potential GOP cuts to Medicaid, veterans programs, DOGE cuts and the impact of Trump’s tariffs.

Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Budget committee, repeated a slogan he has been sharing: “Families lose and billionaires win.”

“That,” he said, “is the Republican plan.”

Fundamental to the Senate package is making sure Trump’s first-term tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year, are continued and made a permanent fixture of the tax code. The senators also will consider adding Trump’s proposed tax cuts on tipped wages, Social Security income and others.

The Senate package also would bolster border security funds by some $175 billion to carry out Trump’s mass deportation campaign, which is running short of cash, and it would add national security funds for the Pentagon — all priorities the Senate GOP tucked into an earlier version that was panned by House Republicans.

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the party whip, said that without action tax cuts would expire, becoming a $4 trillion tax hike on Americans. “Republicans are focused on getting America back on track,” he said.

What’s unclear is how it will all be paid for, since Republican deficit hawks typically require spending offsets to help defray the lost tax revenue and avoid piling onto the nation’s $36 trillion debt load.

While House Republicans approved their package with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and up to $2 trillion in spending cuts, the Senate Republicans are taking a different tack.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham is making the case that since the existing Trump tax breaks are the current policy, they are not considered new, and do not need to be offset with reductions in spending — an approach Democrats compare to “going nuclear” with the normal rules, particularly if the strategy is put to the test with an unfavorable ruling before the Senate parliamentarian.

Instead, Senate Republicans are considering offsets mostly for any new Trump tax breaks. Raising alarms from the most conservative budget hawks, the senators have set a floor of about $4 billion in budget reductions to health and other programs — a fraction of the package’s expected $4 trillion-plus price tag for tax breaks.

GOP leaders are assuring the deficit hawks within their own ranks that the legislation says the cuts can rise to as much as $2 trillion.

After an expected Friday night vote-a-rama, with dozens of amendments being offered to the package, the senators are planning to stay into Saturday if needed to take a final vote to approve it, sending it to the House for action.

The House and Senate will ultimately need to merge their frameworks into a final product, expected in May, but House Speaker Mike Johnson’s intention to have it all wrapped up by Memorial Day could prove optimistic.

The political environment is uncertain, and the public’s appetite for steep budget cuts is being tested in real time, with Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency headed by billionaire Elon Musk blazing through federal offices, firing thousands of workers and shuttering long-running government mainstays — from scientific research projects on diseases to educational services for schoolchildren to offices that help with Social Security, tax filing and the weather.

At the same time, the staunchest fiscal conservatives in both the House and Senate, many aligned with the Freedom Caucus, are pushing for even more cuts.

Trump told senators publicly and privately this week he would have their backs, particularly when it comes to standing up for the spending reductions. At a White House announcing the tariffs Wednesday, Trump said the Senate plan had his “complete and total support.”

The president’s steep tariffs threw the global economy into a tailspin Thursday, with stocks down around the world, the U.S. markets leading the way.

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Associated Press writers Leah Askarinam and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

ATLANTA — The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, has ended about $10 million in annual funding to the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, a CISA spokesperson said in an email Monday.

It’s the latest move by Trump administration officials to rein in the federal government’s role in election security, which has prompted concerns about an erosion of guardrails to prevent foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

CISA announced a few weeks ago that it was conducting a review of its election-related work, and more than a dozen staffers who have worked on elections were placed on administrative leave. That followed an administration move to disband an FBI task force focused on investigating foreign influence operations, including those that target U.S. elections.

“I have grave concern for state and local election officials and for the security of our elections going forward,” said Larry Norden, an election security expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU’s School of Law.

In recent years, CISA has faced sustained criticism from Republicans over past efforts to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic. Previous CISA leadership had said the agency never engaged in censorship and only worked with states to help them notify social media companies about misinformation spreading on their platforms.

When asked Monday if the review of CISA’s election work was complete and if the agency could share a copy of the report, an agency spokesperson said it was an internal review to “help inform how the agency moves forward to best support critical infrastructure” and was not planned for public release.

The two cybersecurity initiatives facing cuts are the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which included state and local election officials along with representatives of voting system manufacturers, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which has benefited state, local and tribal government offices.

Both have been organized within a nonprofit, the Center for Internet Security.

The activities no longer being funded include cyber threat intelligence, cyber incident response and engaging with state and local government officials. In a statement, the agency said ending the funding will help “focus CISA’s work on mission critical areas, and eliminate redundancies.”

Following CISA’s decision, the Center for Internet Security posted a notice online that it was no longer supporting the election-specific initiative. A spokesperson for the Center for Internet Security did not respond to questions sent by email about the effects of the cuts.

The National Association of Secretaries of State, comprised of top state election officials from across the country, was seeking information from CISA about the move and its recent election-specific review, said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat who is president of the bipartisan group.

Simon said he was waiting for more information before drawing conclusions. He said the group’s executive board recently sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging CISA to continue services to state and local election officials, including support for the election information sharing center.

“We got a lot out of it,” Simon said Monday.

CISA falls under the Department of Homeland Security, although it has its own Senate-confirmed director. President Donald Trump has yet to nominate someone as CISA director. The agency was formed in 2018 during the first Trump administration and is charged with protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, from dams and nuclear power plants to banks and voting systems.

A spokesperson for the National Association of State Election Directors said the group was hoping to learn more from the Center for Internet Security about the effect of the federal cuts on its operations.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who served as chair of the executive committee for the election information sharing initiative, said it provided crucial support during last year’s presidential election. Election officials were reporting malicious cyberattacks and sharing important details in real time, which she said allowed Maine to preemptively block those attempting to target her state’s networks.

“We will find a way to protect our elections,” said Bellows, a Democrat. “But given the sophistication of these threats, the elimination of the (information sharing initiative) is both inefficient and extremely dangerous.”

ATLANTA — Staffers at the nation’s cybersecurity agency whose job is to ensure the security of U.S. elections have been placed on administrative leave, jeopardizing critical support provided to state and local election offices across the country.

In recent days, 17 employees of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who have worked with election officials to provide assessments and trainings dealing with a range of threats — from cyber and ransomware attacks to physical security of election workers — have been placed on leave pending a review, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Ten of those employees are regional election security specialists hired as part of an effort to expand field staff and election security expertise ahead of the 2024 election. The regional staffers were told the internal review would examine efforts to combat attempts by foreign governments to influence U.S. elections, duties that were assigned to other agency staff, according to the person.

All were former state or local election officials who were brought in to build relationships across all 50 states and the nation’s more than 8,000 local election jurisdictions. They spent the past year meeting with election officials, attending conferences and trainings, and ensuring officials were aware of the agency’s various cybersecurity and physical security services.

A request for comment Monday to a CISA representative and a representative of the Department of Homeland Security was not returned.

State election officials of both political parties have defended CISA’s work to help secure election offices from a range of cybersecurity and physical threats.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, said the agency’s work had been particularly valuable for county clerks in his state.

“The most value that we’ve got from CISA has been the people that they have on the ground in our state that build direct relationships, not just with us but with the individual county clerks,” Adams said during an interview late last month. “They’re teaching them and helping them check their physical security and their cyber hygiene, and that’s been extremely popular.”

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said during an interview in late January that the agency had been a critical partner for state and local election officials.

“And I hope that leaders in the federal government who claim to care about election integrity will recognize that,” she said.

The other staffers placed on leave are current or former members of the agency’s Election Security and Resilience team, who were told the review was looking into agency efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation campaigns, according to the person familiar with the situation. The 10 election security specialists who worked with state and local election officials reported to a different team at CISA, the field operations division.

The personnel moves come as questions have been swirling about the future of the agency in the face of sustained criticism from Republicans and key figures in the Trump administration. President Donald Trump’s new homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said during her Senate confirmation hearing last month that CISA had strayed “far off mission” and she pledged to work with senators “should you wish to rein them in.”

Trump has not named a replacement for former CISA Director Jen Easterly, and agency leadership was noticeably absent from recent meetings of state election officials in the nation’s capital.

CISA was formed in 2018 during the first Trump administration and is charged with protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, from dams and nuclear power plants to banks and voting systems. While CISA is under the Department of Homeland Security, it’s a separate agency with its own Senate-confirmed director.

Trump and his allies remain angry over the agency’s work to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agency officials have said CISA was never engaged in censorship. During the 2020 election, CISA officials worked with states to help them notify social media companies about misinformation spreading on their platforms, but they have said they never instructed or sought to coerce those companies to act.

For the 2024 election, CISA and other federal agencies alerted the public to various foreign misinformation campaigns, including three fake videos linked to Russia purporting to show election misconduct in battleground states.

A spokesperson with the National Association of State Election Directors said Monday the group could not comment on CISA’s personnel decisions and looks forward to hearing from agency officials about the organization’s plans for election-related work.

Maria Benson, a spokeswoman with the National Association of Secretaries of State, said the group had requested a staffing update from CISA. She said CISA “has relayed to NASS that all cybersecurity and physical security services are expected to be available to state and local election officials.”