Marsha Blackburn

U.S. Sen Marsha Blackburn was the subject of a Senate ethics probe over allegations her office used taxpayer funds for campaign activities.

Senate records show Blackburn’s federal staff were reimbursed for travel to dozens of political events, including county GOP meetings.

Directives for political work came from Blackburn’s campaign strategist, Ward Baker, according to texts, emails and phone conversations reviewed by The Tennessean.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn's office was the subject of a Senate ethics probe last year focused on allegations that members of her staff improperly used federal resources for campaign purposes while Blackburn sought reelection in 2024, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Senate ethics committee members determined violations had occurred, the source said, and they stemmed from a lack of separation between campaign operatives and federal staff.

The committee gave Blackburn the opportunity to self-correct before making any findings public, the source said, and recommended Blackburn's office create a clear separation between official work and political work.

Senate ethics rules prohibit staff from using federal resources to engage in campaign activity. The appearance of impropriety, even if there is no wrongdoing, can be enough to result in an ethics violation.

“We want candidates to operate independently of the weight of the federal government," said Cynthia Brown, senior ethics counsel for the nonpartisan legal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “Elections are not free and fair if the government puts its thumb on the scale.”

Neither Blackburn’s Senate office nor her campaign responded to multiple messages requesting comment for this story. In response to reporting by WTVF on the probe, a statement from Blackburn's office confirmed the existence of an investigation.

"No one takes compliance with Senate ethics rules more seriously than Senator Blackburn, and the Senate Ethics Committee completed its review and resolved this matter with our office's full cooperation," Blackburn Senate Communications Director Audrey Cook said in a statement.

Blackburn's longtime political campaign strategist Ward Baker asked federal staff members to attend political meetings and gather information for campaign purposes throughout the 2024 election cycle, according to text messages, emails and hours of audio recordings reviewed by The Tennessean.

Baker is a nationally known operative who previously served as director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Baker led Blackburn's 2024 Senate reelection bid, which was the target of the probe. He is now running Blackburn's gubernatorial campaign.

Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, staff members believed that Baker would likely push for federal staff to do political work on federal time, according to a recording of a phone conversation between two staff members provided to The Tennessean by a participant in the call.

"It's going to be hell, and you're going to be asked to break the law," a senior staff member said during that call.

Blackburn's federal Senate staff members attended dozens of political events during the 2024 election cycle and were reimbursed at least $6,000 by taxpayers, Senate expense records show.

“If you’re working as a senator’s staff and part of your job is to do campaign background research, videos and helping her with her reelection campaign, that’s prohibited," Brown said. "Taxpayers are paying their salary, and if they’re using their work time to help her reelection efforts, that would violate Senate ethics rules.”

Baker's firm Baker Group Strategies did not respond to The Tennessean's request for comment regarding Baker's role in Blackburn's federal office.

Senate ethics inquiries rare

In 2025, the Senate ethics committee received 181 allegations and found 27 worthy of preliminary inquiry.

“It’s a big thing that the Blackburn issue even made it to preliminary inquiry," said Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics for Campaign Legal Center. “The Senate ethics committee would not do a preliminary inquiry if it wasn’t already pretty clear that there was a violation.”

While the U.S. House has an independent Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate misconduct allegations, the Senate polices itself. A bipartisan committee of six senators investigates allegations against their colleagues. When the committee determines that violations have occurred, members meet with the senator to discuss corrective action.

It's unclear what corrective action Blackburn's office committed to take or whether it was executed.

If the committee finds corrective action wasn't taken, further consequences can ensue, according to Brown. Senate ethics investigations rarely result in a formal rebuke. Of the 1,394 complaints filed in the last 10 years, only three resulted in a public or private letter from the committee, records show.

If the committee found no wrongdoing, the senator would have a letter to that effect, Payne said. Blackburn's office has not released any documents that indicate a finding of no wrongdoing.

Political operative sent Senate staff to political events, documents show

During the 2024 election cycle, Baker held regular calls with federal staff members to share political objectives and polling information. On a recording of one such call reviewed by The Tennessean, Baker can be heard directing federal staff to attend political events, share certain news articles on her federal U.S. Senate web page, and take pictures to pass on to the campaign to be published on the "Team Blackburn" social media accounts.

"We find that to be very beneficial for sort of the social media SEO. ... We want to make it feel like, you know, we're everywhere we need to be," Baker can be heard saying on the call.

Senate ethics rules prohibit Senate staff from doing campaign work on federal time, in federal offices or using federal property like phones.

Blackburn's state-based Senate staff attended dozens of county GOP meetings where party members elected new officers, just as Baker can be heard directing them to do on the call.

Senate records show 10 members of Blackburn's Senate field staff attended at least 35 such meetings in locations across the state in 2023. Taxpayers paid more than $6,000 in expenses for their travel.

When a staff member raised concerns over the rising pressure to "cross ethical lines," during one recorded conversation reviewed by The Tennessean, their supervisor said they felt "powerless" to do anything about it.

"Those lines aren't even going to exist in '24," the supervisor said. "You're not going to be asked to, like, commit fraud or something. But as far as, like, basically being a campaign worker ... and blowing off your real job. You know it's coming."

Blackburn campaign created videos from state events

Before and after launching her gubernatorial bid, Blackburn attended events in Tennessee staffed with federal workers and produced campaign assets.

She attended the 2025 opening legislative reception at the State Museum in Nashville on Jan. 14, 2025. Federal delegation members rarely attend the reception, which is typically aimed at state lawmakers, lobbyists, and occasionally, reporters. U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty also attended.

Blackburn’s attendance and speech at the event were seen in Capitol circles as signals that her gubernatorial campaign launch was imminent.

Blackburn was staffed by federal employees at the event, including a field representative, state director and special projects coordinator. Congressional expense records show travel for each on Jan. 14 was reimbursed with official Senate funds.

Blackburn’s official Senate social media pages did not mention the event. Her campaign’s social media page released a video of her meeting Republican VIPs at the reception.

A year later, after launching her campaign, Blackburn attended Gov. Bill Lee’s final State of the State address on Feb. 2 this year, a rare move for a member of the federal delegation. Hagerty also attended.

Her campaign account released a video branded with the "Blackburn for Governor" logo describing the event in which Blackburn pledged “as Governor” to build on Lee’s success.

Her official Senate social media page did not mention the visit. At least one Senate staff member received travel expenses to Nashville paid from official Senate funds on Feb. 2.

When asked in what capacity Blackburn attended the State of the State event, campaign manager Abigail Sigler, who works for Baker, did not say whether Blackburn attended in her official capacity or as a campaign function.

“She attended as a Tennessean who is interested in the well-being of the state,” Sigler told The Tennessean in an email on Feb. 3.

Other complaints

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance dismissed a complaint against Blackburn this year that alleged she inappropriately used Senate campaign funds to fuel her gubernatorial campaign. The state board determined such a complaint would need to be handled federally.

While Blackburn is not up for federal reelection until 2030, she spent nearly $2.8 million in federal campaign funds toward her 2030 Senate reelection bid in the months leading up to her gubernatorial campaign launch, nearly twice what Hagerty has spent toward his 2026 reelection bid. Federal law prohibits spending federal campaign money on state elections.

A separate complaint accused Blackburn and Hagerty of breaking ethics rules by voting for a measure that could have resulted in a personal “financial windfall.” Both senators supported a government shutdown-ending funding bill that included a provision to allow U.S. senators targeted by Department of Justice probes to sue the federal government for millions in damages. Both said they never intended to seek the money. The outcome of the complaint is unclear. No public action has been taken by the Senate Ethics Committee on the matter.