President Donald Trump appears prepared to secure the upcoming midterm elections through a barrage of executive and administrative actions if Republicans in Congress refuse to deliver the SAVE Act. The White House has opened several election-integrity fronts involving the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, federal funding, voter rolls, and the agencies responsible for assisting state election offices. Democrats are describing the approach as “death by a thousand cuts,” while Trump continues pushing Senate Republicans to pass nationwide proof-of-citizenship requirements.
The strategy comes as the midterm elections rapidly approach and the SAVE Act remains stalled on Capitol Hill. The legislation would require documentary proof of American citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, but Republican holdouts and the Senate’s filibuster rules have repeatedly blocked it from reaching Trump’s desk. Rather than waiting indefinitely for Congress, the administration is using the federal government’s existing authority to pressure states into strengthening citizenship verification and voter-list maintenance.
One part of that effort involves the little-known Election Assistance Commission, which provides cybersecurity and administrative support to state and local election offices. Trump recently moved to sharply reduce the commission, alarming Democratic election officials who argue that the change could weaken federal assistance ahead of November. The move is only one part of a wider campaign that has continued even as federal courts challenge or block portions of Trump’s election-related executive orders.
Trending Politics News reported that the Justice Department has also demanded states provide voter-registration records for federal review. The department reportedly sent letters warning state officials that they could face prosecution if they permit noncitizens to vote, which is already illegal in federal elections. More than a dozen courts have rejected previous Justice Department attempts to compel states to surrender their voter records, but the administration has continued pressing the issue.
The Department of Homeland Security is applying pressure through a separate channel. According to the report, states have been warned that federal election-security funding could be placed at risk if they refuse to use a federal system designed to verify citizenship. Taken together, the moves give the administration several ways to influence election procedures even if Senate Republicans prevent the SAVE Act from becoming law before voters head to the polls.
Trump then strengthened his case during a Thursday night White House address in which he announced the release of classified information concerning alleged Chinese interference in American elections. “First, they show that over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history,” Trump said. He said the operation resulted in “China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files.”
Watch Trump describe the compromise of American voter information here:
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Trump said the stolen information went far beyond just names appearing on public registration lists. “That information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities,” he said. Trump added that such activities were “exactly what was happening,” calling the breach “an unprecedented election security nightmare.”
Democratic election officials have attacked the administration’s multi-agency strategy and accused Trump of deliberately undermining public confidence in the voting system. “This is a concerted effort of death by a thousand cuts,” said Barb Byrum, the Democratic clerk of Ingham County, Michigan. “Every day is another battle, but the war that we’re fighting is to maintain our democracy.”
Ann Jacobs, a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, offered a similar response to the administration’s efforts. “Do I think this is part of the pattern and intentionality of undermining confidence in elections? Yes, yes, I do,” Jacobs said. “The constant drumbeat since 2020 has been specifically designed to do that, and it’s distressing.”
Trump, however, said the newly declassified materials would be released in multiple phases, with each group of documents detailing a different alleged operation involving American elections. The White House has begun making those records available publicly while the administration continues its pressure campaign against states and election officials. That campaign is moving forward whether Congress passes the SAVE Act before November or not.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.