11 Dems accuse Trump Mobile of deceptive trade in FTC letter
Jan. 15 (UPI) — Eleven Senate and House Democrats on Thursday said T1 Mobile LLC dba Trump Mobile has not delivered phones as promised and made deceptive claims about its origin.
They said the Trump Mobile T1 phone is not made in the United States and want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate potential violations of federal consumer protection laws.
The Trump Organization launched Trump Mobile in June and said the T1 phone is made in the United States on a website promoting the service, the lawmakers said in a jointly written letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson.
Trump Mobile in June said consumers could reserve a T1 phone by placing a $100 deposit, but as of January, no phones have been delivered, according to the lawmakers.
On Dec. 31, Fortune reported that Trump Mobile staff said the 43-day shutdown of the federal government caused Trump Mobile to “pause everything on the [Federal Communications Commission] side of things,” thus further delaying delivery of the mobile phone.
The claim that the phone is made in the United States also is deceptive, according to the lawmakers.
“Trump Mobile initially advertised the T1 phone as ‘made in the USA’ on its website,” the lawmakers said.
“These claims were quietly removed from the website in late June 2025, days after the phone was announced,” they said.
A review of a Trump Mobile announcement for the phone shows it is described as a “sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States for customers who expect the best from their mobile carrier.”
The Trump Mobile website does not include any claims that the phone is made in the United States.
The website also shows T1 Mobile LLC dba Trump Mobile secured a licensing agreement to use the Trump name and trademark.
A Trump Mobile staffer earlier this week said the phone will be manufactured in the United States, NBC News reported.
The lawmakers, though, told the FTC chairman that the United States does not have any facilities capable of manufacturing the cellphone.
The letter is signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Edward Markey and Adam Schiff of California.
Also signing are Reps. Doris Matsui and Robert Garcia of California, Greg Cesar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Maxwell Frost of Florida.
Trump Mobile did not immediately respond to an email request for comment made early Thursday evening.