(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Monday called on Republicans to “take over” and “nationalize” voting as he continued to make false claims about the electoral process in the U.S. with the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon.
Trump made the comments in an interview with former FBI Director Dan Bongino, who resigned from his post in December and returned to podcasting.
Trump alleged noncitizen voting was improperly influencing election outcomes, though experts insist such instances are incredibly rare and already illegal, and told Bongino it was “amazing that the Republicans aren’t tougher on it.”
“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,'” Trump said. “We should take over the voting … in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked and they’re counting votes.”
The Constitution gives states the authority to conduct federal elections, subject to laws passed by Congress. The elections clause states, in part, that “state legislatures will establish the times, places, and manner of holding elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate.”
Trump didn’t elaborate on how he wanted Republicans to “nationalize” voting.
Asked by ABC News for specifics on what Trump meant, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded, “President Trump cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections — that’s why he’s urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat, slammed Trump over his comments to Bongino.
“Just a few hours ago, Donald Trump said he wants to nationalize elections around the country. That’s what Trump said. You think he believes in democracy? He said, ‘We want to take over, the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,'” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he is saying is outlandishly illegal.”
Trump’s agenda is at stake in this year’s elections, where all seats in the House and 35 in the Senate will be up for grabs. Currently, Republicans hold narrow margins in both chambers — but midterm cycles are historically unkind to the sitting president’s party.
Last year, Trump and other Republicans pushed for mid-decade redistricting in order to gain additional House seats. The president warned Republicans last month that they have to win the midterms or he will get “impeached.”
Trump also continues to litigate his 2020 election loss, spreading false claims of fraud.
Last week, the FBI searched and seized original 2020 voting records from the Fulton County Elections and Operations Hub in Georgia, a swing state that went blue in 2020 and helped secure Joe Biden’s victory.
“Now you’re going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get, with a court order, the ballots. You’re going to see some interesting things come out,” Trump said on Bongino’s podcast.
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