Thune opposes Trump election takeover concept, says Dems tried the identical and failed

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The Senate’s prime Republican chief threw chilly water on President Donald Trump's want to nationalize elections, arguing he was in favor of "decentralized, distributed energy."

Trump, throughout an look on former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s podcast, contended that it was "wonderful Republicans aren’t more durable" on elections.

"The Republicans ought to say, ‘We need to take over, we must always take over the voting in at the very least many — 15 locations,’" Trump mentioned. "The Republicans should nationalize the voting. We've states which can be so crooked."

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Senate Majority Chief John Thune, R-S.D., threw chilly water on President Donald Trump's insistence that Republicans transfer to nationalize elections. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)

However Senate Majority Chief John Thune, R-S.D., rejected the notion. He mentioned that whereas he was supportive of solely residents voting and exhibiting identification at polling locations to take action, he was not in "favor of federalizing elections."

"That is a constitutional challenge. You gotta be a citizen to vote in our elections," Thune mentioned.

Trump’s capability to morph and form the election panorama runs into constitutional obstacles, notably that elections are run by state and local officials in all 50 states. The federal authorities has a restricted position in that course of.

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President Donald Trump arrives forward of the marriage of Dan Scavino, White Home deputy chief of workers, and Erin Elmore, the director of Artwork in Embassies on the U.S. Division of State, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Seashore, Fla., Feb. 1, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)

Thune additionally famous that echoes of the thought have been as soon as pushed by congressional Democrats years in the past — one thing that Senate Republicans resoundingly crushed.

"However there are different issues that the Dems had of their proposal to federalize elections that are actually dangerous outcomes for the nation," he mentioned. "I am a giant believer in decentralized, distributed energy. And I feel, you realize, it is more durable to hack 50 election programs than it's to hack one."

Congressional Republicans strongly pushed again in opposition to pushes by their counterparts to go election reform laws, notably the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the Individuals Act, which they argued on the time would successfully nationalize elections and provides Democrats management of the election system throughout the nation.

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Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., maintain a joint information convention on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2026. (Invoice Clark/CQ Roll Name, Inc. by way of Getty Pictures)

Trump’s suggestion got here after the FBI raided an election hub in Fulton County, Ga., the place federal regulation enforcement officers have been licensed to grab election information, voting rolls and different knowledge tied to the 2020 election.

It additionally comes as congressional Republicans wrestle with the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which beforehand handed the Home however has not gotten a vote in the Senate.

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That laws would require states to acquire proof of citizenship in-person when folks register to vote and take away noncitizens from voter rolls. A modified model of the invoice gaining steam amongst conservatives would require photo ID when voting .

In the meantime, Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., slammed Trump’s feedback and the SAVE Act and affirmed that the invoice would by no means go via the Senate.

"Now as for the SAVE Act itself: it has nothing to do with defending our elections and the whole lot to do with federalizing voter suppression," Schumer mentioned. "The SAVE Act is nothing greater than Jim Crow 2.0."