Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin sent letters on Monday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, requesting confirmation that the military will not be deployed to polling locations during the upcoming midterm elections, The Hill reported.
Slotkin, who serves on the Senate Armed Services and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees, is seeking a guarantee that the Department of Defense will not send federal troops to the polls or seize election materials. She described this as a simple statement that is necessary to address concerns regarding the role of the military in domestic affairs.
The push for this confirmation follows comments made by President Trump regarding the potential federalization of the midterm elections. During a conversation with conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root last week, the president addressed the possibility of declaring a national security emergency to nationalize the midterms. When asked about this, the president said, “Let me just say that stranger things have happened, OK? I’ll leave it at that.”
These remarks have led to concerns among some lawmakers about how the executive branch might interact with the electoral process
Slotkin highlighted these comments in her correspondence, noting that the president has previously expressed a desire to use military assets for election-related activities. Earlier this year, the president told The New York Times that he regretted not sending National Guard troops to seize voting machines in swing states following the 2020 election. The president has consistently claimed that he defeated Joe Biden in that race, attributing the outcome to unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.
In her letter, Slotkin wrote, “It is hard to miss that the President is laying the groundwork to send troops to the polls during the midterm elections.” She further stated, “President Trump has made clear his belief that the only way Republicans can lose the midterms is if they are stolen.”
Because of these statements, the senator is asking for assurances that the Department of Defense will adhere to federal law. Existing statutes generally prohibit the deployment of the military to polling places, with narrow exceptions for instances where it is necessary to repel armed enemies of the country.
The senator emphasized the importance of maintaining the military as an apolitical institution. She argued that the tradition of nonpartisan service and constitutional protections are vital for preventing the armed forces from acting as a domestic police force for a specific political party. In her view, the nation’s senior defense and security leaders serve as a final failsafe for the democratic process.
While the discussion regarding the potential use of the military continues, the Department of Justice is moving forward with its own oversight plans. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Bloomberg on Tuesday that the Department of Justice will deploy 1,000 poll monitors for the midterm elections. This follows a release from the department on Tuesday stating that it had already deployed more than 75 monitors across five states during the primary season.
Published: Aug 19, 2026 05:30 pm