Top Republicans throw cold water on 'nationalizing' elections

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Roll Call

Posted February 3, 2026 at 5:06pm


As many Republicans in Congress push for action on a voter ID bill, its future remains uncertain — and key voices in the GOP say they are wary of increasing federal involvement in elections. “I’m supportive of only citizens voting and showing ID at polling places. I think that makes sense … but I’m not in favor of federalizing elections. I mean, I think that’s a constitutional issue,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday. “I’m a big believer in decentralized and distributed power, and I think it’s harder to hack 50 elections systems than it is to hack one,” Thune said.

The bill, known as the SAVE Act, would require American voters to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. It has become a rallying cry for House Republicans in recent days, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and others threatening to derail must-pass spending bills unless their demands were met.

The group eventually backed down, saying they had reason to hope they would see action “in the coming weeks” on a newly revamped version, dubbed the SAVE America Act, that would also add a photo ID requirement at the polls. It was introduced in the House by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and in the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. “I think that the president wants this, and I think that he’s going to heavily get behind it,” Luna said. But adding new mandates for how states administer their elections is a sticking point for some.

While the SAVE Act passed the House in April, it has yet to see action in the Senate. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, led a letter on Monday urging Senate Rules and Administration Chair Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to advance the legislation through his committee, saying it was “past due.” McConnell, however, is one of a small handful of Republicans who have not signed on as co-sponsors of the SAVE Act.

Read more: https://rollcall.com/2026/02/03/top-republicans-throw-cold-water-nationalizing-elections/

[Javaman]

1. oh the repukes love themselves some poll tax.nt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. MaddowBlog-'Republicans ought to nationalize the voting': Trump eyes radical power-grab

Those concerned about democracy don’t have the luxury of simply shrugging with indifference to the president’s latest conspiratorial nonsense.

Four weeks ago: Trump floated the idea of canceling future elections
Three weeks ago: “When you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election”
Yesterday: “The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting”

But it’s not just rhetoric: all of this has come against a backdrop of concrete action.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-03T14:05:32.050Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republicans-ought-to-nationalize-the-voting-trump-eyes-radical-power-grab

Partway through the interview, Bongino briefly referred to crime rates, to which Trump responded with a meandering rant across a variety of unrelated subjects, including his bizarre beliefs about election administration.

Trump: "These people were brought to our country to vote, & they vote illegally. The Republicans should say, we should take over the voting in at least 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that I won that show I didn't win. You're gonna see something in Georgia"

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-02-02T18:03:24.971Z

In the course of an unsettling tirade about his “landslide” victory in 2024 (which clearly wasn’t a landslide) and his belief that undocumented immigrants were brought into the U.S. specifically to vote against Republicans (undocumented immigrants cannot and do not vote), Trump elaborated on his vision for the nation’s electoral system.

“You know, it’s amazing that the Republicans aren’t tougher on it,” the president told Bongino. “The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over.’ We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”.....

Trump has long made clear that he rejects the idea that Americans settle their differences at the ballot box, and in recent weeks he’s offered fresh evidence of his antipathy toward democracy. On the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks, for example, Trump briefly floated the idea of canceling future U.S. elections. A few weeks ago, he told Reuters that he’s so impressed with himself and his record that “when you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election.”

While Trump doesn’t have a credible plan to take over the nation’s system of elections, his increasingly frequent and radical declarations have been unsubtle. They’ve also begun to result in concrete action: It was just last week when FBI agents raided an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, seizing ballots and voting records as part of the president’s conspiracy theory, which included Trump personally thanking the agents for their efforts.

This coincided with Trump’s Justice Department pursuing an aggressive campaign to acquire voter rolls from states where Democrats won in 2024.

Those concerned about democracy, voting rights and the integrity of election results don’t have the luxury of simply shrugging with indifference at the president’s latest nonsense. It’s part of a broader pattern of behavior that extends well beyond ridiculous whining.