Senator presses Hegseth, Caine for commitment to keep US military out of the midterm elections
Slotkin wants a written pledge that the Pentagon will not deploy federal troops to polling places or handle election materials, citing midterm concerns.
- On Tuesday, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, requesting confirmation that the Department of Defense will not deploy federal troops to polling places or seize election materials during November's midterm elections.
- Slotkin cited concerns that the Trump administration could use the military to interfere, pointing to the 2025 deployment of active-duty Marines to Los Angeles and Trump's 2020 efforts to contemplate using the military to seize voting machines.
- Federal law prohibits deploying armed federal forces to election locations, and Secretary Hegseth previously dismissed similar inquiries as a "gotcha hypothetical," stating in April, "I've never been ordered to do anything illegal, and I won't."
- The Pentagon stated in an email that it will respond directly to the senator, while the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the formal assurances request.
- Claiming Trump is "laying the breadcrumbs" to contest results, Slotkin referenced a 2020 letter from Gen. Mark Milley affirming "the principle of an apolitical U.S. military" and stating courts, not the military, resolve election disputes.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Associated Press News
Senator presses Hegseth, Caine for commitment to keep US military out of the midterm elections
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin has asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm that he won’t send troops to polling places during the midterm elections.
Senator Wants to Keep Military Out of Midterms
“Sen. Elissa Slotkin asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday to confirm he won’t send U.S. troops to polling places during November’s midterm elections, as Democrats have raised concerns that the Trump administration could use the military to interfere with the vote,” the Associated Press reports. Said Slotkin, in a letter: “I’d ask you to […]
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm Tuesday that he will not send soldiers to polling stations during the mid-term legislative elections in November, while Democrats have expressed concern that the Trump administration could use the military to interfere with the vote.
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