Thune Rejects Trump’s Push for GOP to ‘Take Over’ and Nationalize Elections, Calls It a Constitutional Red Line
Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday publicly rejected President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to “nationalize” voting and “take over” the management of elections in multiple states ahead of the midterm elections.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Thune said he supports requiring voters to prove their citizenship with identification at polling places but made clear he does not back shifting control of elections from the states to the federal government.
“I’m supportive of only citizens voting and showing ID at polling places. I think that makes sense,” Thune said. “But I’m not in favor of federalizing elections. I think that’s a constitutional issue.”
Thune emphasized that the U.S. system of decentralized elections is actually a safeguard against interference. “I’m a big believer in decentralized and distributed power,” he added. “It’s harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one.”
Trump’s remarks came during an interview with conservative commentator Dan Bongino, where the president urged Republicans to step in and control voting systems in at least 15 states to prevent what he described as widespread voter fraud before November’s elections.
“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,’” Trump said. “We should take over the voting. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”
The comments arrive as conservatives in both chambers of Congress push for passage of the SAVE Act, legislation that would require voters to present documents such as passports or birth certificates to prove citizenship when registering to vote and mandate stricter oversight of voter rolls.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the proposal, calling it “Jim Crow 2.0” and pledging unified Democratic resistance. He said the bill would disenfranchise millions of Americans and vowed that every Senate Democrat would oppose it.
Thune’s stance highlights a notable split within Republican leadership, as he draws a line between supporting stricter voter identification rules and endorsing federal control over elections — a move he says would run counter to the Constitution’s delegation of election authority to the states.
