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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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President Donald Trump said Monday that he would like to see Republicans nationalize elections, after claiming immigrants had been brought in to alter results and widespread fraud had taken place in states including Georgia.
Speaking to Dan Bongino, who recently left his role as deputy director at the FBI, Trump said he felt voting was corrupt in the U.S. and power needed to be taken away from the states, seemingly seeking to go against the Constitution.
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“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least 15 places.’ The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said on The Dan Bongino Show.
The comments sparked criticism from Democrats and Republicans, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer describing the proposal as "outlandishly illegal".
Why It Matters
Trump has long claimed elections have been rigged against him, despite winning two of the three presidential elections he has run in. He has repeated theories widely disproven that ballots were altered or stolen during the 2020 election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden, and that illegal immigrants have been allowed to cast votes in some states in which he has lost.
The latest comments are part of a series made by the president that he would seek to make changes to the way voting takes place before the 2026 midterms, raising concerns among Democrats and experts that he would seek to overturn part of the U.S. Constitution.
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What To Know
A former judge was among those to rebuff Trump’s comments on Monday, urging him to read the Constitution. Former U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III told CNN that it was the state legislatures’ job to decide on how elections should take place.
“What he’s proposing is not legal,” Jones said Monday.
The U.S. Constitution explicitly lays out who is responsible for managing elections.
“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators,” Article I, Section 4 reads.
Even if the U.S. President wanted to change how elections are run, such as creating a nationalized body to manage them, he would need Congress to make the changes. It is not in his power to do so.
The discussion around election security has been reignited in recent days, after federal agents raided the Fulton County, Georgia, election office amid a probe into the 2020 election results. The county was one of the key spots targeted by Trump in the weeks after that election, where he made claims of voter fraud.
Despite multiple investigations finding no evidence of such fraud or that Trump won in 2020, the president has continued to maintain the view that the election was stolen from him.
On Monday, he urged Republicans to seize control of elections, creating a nationalized system rather than one left to the states. The comments reflected a wider effort to change how voting works across the U.S. under the Trump administration, including now halted plans for requiring proof of citizenship in order to register to vote.
What People Are Saying
Democratic New York Senator Chuck Schumer, speaking Monday: “Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he’s saying is outlandishly illegal. Once again, the president’s talking no differently than a dictator who wants elections in America to be as legitimate as elections in countries like Venezuela.”
Republican Nebraska Representative Don Bacon, on X: “I opposed nationalizing elections when Speaker Pelosi wanted major changes to elections in all 50 states. I’ll oppose this now as well. I work w/the NE Gov & Unicameral to ensure we have secure elections where every citizen’s vote counts. This is what the Constitution calls for.”
Justin Amash, who describes himself as a libertarian Republican Constitutional conservative on X: “Republicans should not, in fact, ‘nationalize the voting.’ If you were worried about election integrity before, this would make things infinitely worse. Decentralized elections are one of the greatest protections against large-scale fraud and abuse.”
**Veterans for Responsible Leadership, a pro-democracy advocacy group, on X: “*Trump now says we should nationalize voting. A big f** you to everyone that still says they are a conservative and supports Trump. It was all a lie that they said they believe in small government and state and local control. The biggest hypocrites on earth.”
President Donald Trump, in an August 2025 social media post on an as-yet-unsigned executive order, said, “Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.”
What Happens Next
Senator Schumer warned that the GOP’s SAVE Act was a tool that could be used to nationalize elections. Meanwhile, the investigation in Georgia continues.
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