Sen. Elissa Slotkin has formally requested that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly confirm the Department of Defense will not deploy U.S. troops to polling places or seize election materials during the upcoming midterm elections. The Michigan Democrat sent letters Tuesday to Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressing concerns that the current administration might interfere with the voting process.
Slotkin stated that former President Trump has previously suggested the military could be used to interfere with election outcomes. She recalled Trump’s contemplation of seizing voting machines after the 2020 election and noted his administration’s deployment of the National Guard to cities against the wishes of local Democratic leaders, as well as active duty Marines during an immigration crackdown in 2025.
During an April congressional hearing, Slotkin questioned Hegseth about the possibility of following orders to seize ballots. Hegseth characterized the question as a "gotcha hypothetical" but responded, "I’ve never been ordered to do anything illegal, and I won’t."
Federal law restricts the deployment of armed federal forces to election locations, permitting it only when "necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States." Any military involvement in elections would typically involve the National Guard operating under state control.
In 2020, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley addressed a similar inquiry from Slotkin. Milley emphasized the principle of an apolitical U.S. military, stating that by law, disputes concerning elections are to be resolved by U.S. courts and Congress, not the military.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has previously denied any intention to use the military to suppress voting in midterms, calling such suggestions "categorically false" and "wrongheaded" in an interview with Vanity Fair last year.