Trump suggests Republicans should nationalize voting

3 hours ago 4

Washington — President Trump suggested Monday that Republicans should "nationalize" voting, the latest escalation successful his and his administration's efforts to measurement into national elections up of the 2026 midterms.

During a podcast interrogation with erstwhile FBI lawman manager Dan Bongino, Mr. Trump repeated his claims that radical who are successful the U.S. illegally are voting successful national elections and urged Republicans to "take implicit the voting" successful astatine slightest 15 states.

"The Republicans should say, 'we privation to instrumentality over,'" Mr. Trump said Monday. "The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. And past we person states that are truthful crooked, and they're counting votes."

A time later, Mr. Trump said successful an Oval Office event, portion flanked by lawmakers and members of his Cabinet: "I privation to spot elections beryllium honest, and if a authorities can't tally an election, I deliberation the radical down maine should bash thing astir it."

Constitution gives states — not the president — the powerfulness to tally elections

The Constitution's Elections Clause gives states the authority to acceptable the rules for national elections, and offices astatine the authorities and section levels oversee their administration, though Congress tin walk predetermination regulations successful definite cases.

As a result, the president has virtually nary relation successful overseeing elections, said David Becker, a CBS News predetermination instrumentality contributor and the enforcement manager of the Center for Election Innovation and Research.

"The Elections Clause of the Constitution couldn't beryllium immoderate much clear," Becker said connected CBS News' "The Takeout with Major Garrett" connected Tuesday. "It's really 1 of the areas the Founders carved out, specifically to exclude the enforcement from immoderate powerfulness implicit elections."

Asked by reporters Tuesday astir those law limits, Mr. Trump said states "can administer the election, but they person to bash it honestly." He besides referred to states arsenic "agents of the national government" and argued that national authorities should beryllium much involved.

White House property caput Karoline Leavitt told CBS News elder White House analogous Weijia Jiang earlier Tuesday that Mr. Trump "believes successful the United States Constitution," but besides believes determination has been "a batch of fraud and irregularities."

Trump moves to grow power implicit elections

The president has accused Democrats of allowing undocumented immigrants successful their states to ballot successful bid to bolster their support, and claimed repeatedly, without evidence, that the 2020 predetermination was rife with fraud.

Dozens of lawsuits filed by his run and GOP allies that sought to overturn the 2020 predetermination results were dismissed, and Bill Barr, who served arsenic lawyer wide successful Mr. Trump's archetypal term, said the Justice Department did not uncover immoderate evidence of wide fraud.

Still, Mr. Trump and his medication person undertaken efforts to exert much power implicit elections. The president signed an enforcement order past twelvemonth that aimed to overhaul elections, including by requiring documentary impervious of citizenship to registry to vote. It is simply a transgression for noncitizens to ballot successful national elections and violators look up to a twelvemonth successful prison.

But the directive faced respective ineligible challenges, and portions of it, including the proof-of-citizenship provisions, person been blocked by national judges.

The Justice Department has besides demanded implicit elector registration lists from astir each authorities and Washington, D.C., according to the Brennan Center for Justice. It has filed lawsuits against 2 twelve states and the District of Columbia for refusing to manus implicit the records, which see voters' addresses, commencement dates and partial Social Security numbers.

Mr. Trump besides urged Republican authorities lawmakers to redraw their legislature territory lines to assistance the GOP clasp onto its bulk successful the House. After Texas adopted caller voting boundaries that aimed to springiness Republicans 5 further House seats, California approved its ain plan to marque 5 seats much favorable to Democrats. Several different states person besides moved to recraft their legislature maps.

Then, past week, the FBI executed a hunt warrant astatine a Fulton County, Georgia, elections bureau and seized ballots from the 2020 statesmanlike election. Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed without grounds that the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination successful Georgia, wherever helium mislaid to erstwhile President Joe Biden, was "rigged" against him.

The president told Bongino that "you're going to spot immoderate absorbing things travel in" regarding Georgia, and again asserted without grounds that helium won the 2020 election.

The FBI's search, arsenic good arsenic the beingness of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard astatine the scene, raised alarms among Democrats connected Capitol Hill. Gabbard told lawmakers successful a letter Monday that Mr. Trump requested she beryllium astatine the hunt of the Fulton County elections hub. She besides acknowledged facilitating a telephone telephone betwixt FBI agents successful Atlanta and the president, and said Mr. Trump wanted to "thank the agents personally for their work." Gabbard said the president did not inquire immoderate questions and did not contented immoderate directives.

The New York Times had reported earlier Monday that Gabbard helped put the telephone betwixt Mr. Trump and FBI agents aft the search.

Mr. Trump has besides backed the SAVE Act, a measure backed by legislature Republicans that would necessitate authorities predetermination officials to get in-person impervious of citizenship from radical registering to vote. Leavitt said Tueday the president's comments connected taking implicit elections referred to that legislation.

"President Trump cares profoundly astir the information and information of our elections — that's wherefore he's urged Congress to walk the SAVE Act and different legislative proposals that would found a azygous modular of photograph ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and extremity the signifier of ballot harvesting," Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said successful effect to Mr. Trump's comments.

Congressional Republicans propulsion backmost connected nationalizing elections

The president's telephone to "nationalize elections" is facing pushback from Republican leaders connected Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that portion helium backs a program to necessitate photograph recognition to vote, helium does not favour federalizing elections.

"I'm a large believer successful decentralized and distributing power, and I deliberation it's harder to hack 50 predetermination systems than it is to hack one," helium told reporters connected Capitol Hill. "So successful my view, that's ever a strategy that's worked rather well."

House Speaker Mike Johnson besides defended the strategy of states administering elections and said Mr. Trump was "expressing frustration" astir predetermination integrity.

"It's a strategy that works well, truthful agelong arsenic the states marque it a precedence to guarantee the integrity of our elections, and we person existent concerns astir immoderate of the bluish states, frankly, that person not been doing that well," helium told reporters. "So that's the president's — he's expressing that frustration. We each person it. We're looking for solutions."

Patrick Maguire and Kaia Hubbard contributed to this report.

In: