The Covington & Burling Split: Inside ActBlue's Legal Shake-up
In April 2026, The New York Times published a detailed report on internal legal turmoil at ActBlue, centering on the organization's relationship with Covington & Burling LLP — one of the most prestigious law firms in Washington, D.C. The report revealed that Covington had warned ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones that she may have misled Congress, and that ActBlue subsequently terminated the firm in contentious circumstances.
The Covington split is more than a lawyer-client dispute. It is a window into the internal pressures facing ActBlue as it navigates multiple federal investigations, congressional scrutiny, and a political landscape where the platform itself has become a target.
The 2023 letter to Congress
The controversy began with a letter. In 2023, as House Republicans ramped up their investigation into ActBlue's foreign donation safeguards, Wallace-Jones sent a letter to the House Administration Committee describing the platform's "multilayered" screenings of contributions that helped "root out" donations from overseas.
The letter was reviewed and approved by Covington & Burling, which was then serving as ActBlue's outside counsel. It seemed, at the time, to be a routine response to congressional oversight.
What Covington found
But within ActBlue, Covington's memos raised serious concerns. According to the Times, the law firm found that some of the steps Wallace-Jones had described in her letter were not always followed in practice.
The findings were significant enough that departing officials told the ActBlue board the organization was being "gravely mismanaged." Dana Remus — a former White House counsel under President Biden who was advising ActBlue — warned Wallace-Jones about her personal legal liability and recommended she inform the board of directors.
"The statements in my 2023 letter to the House Administration Committee were accurate in the context in which they were written." — Regina Wallace-Jones, defending the letter
Wallace-Jones said she "never rejected Dana's counsel" and noted that Covington had approved the letter. But the gap between what the letter claimed and what Covington's internal review found would become a central issue in the ongoing investigations.
The termination
In March 2025, Wallace-Jones terminated Covington & Burling as ActBlue's outside counsel. Her explanation was blunt:
"ActBlue terminated Covington in March 2025 after more than a year of navigating tardiness, unpreparedness, and counsel that bordered on malpractice."
The termination raised eyebrows in legal circles. Covington & Burling is one of the most respected law firms in the country, with a deep practice in regulatory and political law. Firing a firm of that stature — and describing their work as "bordering on malpractice" — suggested a relationship that had broken down profoundly.
The Hurwitz departure
The Covington termination was not the only personnel shake-up. In November 2024, Wallace-Jones had "voiced concerns" to ActBlue's board about the organization's top in-house lawyer, Darrin Hurwitz. Within weeks, Hurwitz was terminated.
The back-to-back departures of both outside counsel and the top in-house lawyer — happening as federal and state investigations intensified — suggested an organization in crisis management mode. Critics pointed to the shake-up as evidence of governance problems under Wallace-Jones's leadership.
The board's response
Despite the turmoil, the ActBlue board stood firmly behind Wallace-Jones. Board chairwoman Peeler-Allen issued a one-page letter on behalf of the entire board, praising the CEO effusively:
"Regina has demonstrated exceptional leadership across every dimension of her role."
Peeler-Allen said the organization wanted to "turn the page on the drama" and framed the challenges as something the organization had weathered: "This is something that we have weathered, and will continue to weather, and are stronger for it."
The quiet policy changes
After the Covington warnings and before the firm's termination, ActBlue took quiet steps to strengthen its efforts to block foreign donations. The organization:
- Began requiring CVV codes on credit card donations (August 2024)
- Stopped accepting gift card donations (September 2024)
- Stopped accepting foreign prepaid debit cards (December 2024)
- Conveyed word of its new policies in a letter its current lawyers sent to Congress in mid-2025
These changes were adopted, notably, "in direct response to" congressional oversight — suggesting that the political pressure, combined with Covington's internal warnings, finally pushed ActBlue to close the gaps its CEO had publicly claimed were already closed.
What the split reveals
The Covington & Burling split reveals several things about ActBlue in 2025-2026:
- Internal governance tensions: The departure of both outside and in-house counsel suggests disagreements about how to handle the investigations
- Legal exposure: Covington's warnings about Wallace-Jones's potential liability indicate real legal risk
- Board confidence: Despite the turmoil, the board's unwavering support for Wallace-Jones indicates confidence in her strategic direction
- Policy evolution: The investigation pressure has produced real (if belated) changes to ActBlue's donor verification practices
The Covington split is, ultimately, a story about the tension between an organization's public posture and its internal reality — and about what happens when a law firm's professional obligations collide with a client's political imperatives.
