WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, MS NOW’s Morning Joe reported that Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent letters to Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel, and Chief of the National Guard General Steven Nordhaus asking for a written response and commitment to keep federal forces and law enforcement agents out of the midterm elections.
Slotkin sent these letters the day after Secretary Mullin refused to rule out that ICE could be sent to polling places to enforce “specific threats.”
Watch the Morning Joe segment here
“As we approach the November 2026 elections, I’d ask you to confirm a simple statement: [DOJ/DHS/FBI/National Guard] will not send armed federal agents to the polls or to unlawfully seize election materials of any kind,” wrote Slotkin. “The President has made it clear through speeches, statements, official guidance, and continued legal action that he is seeking to use all possible tools to interfere with the midterms, to include publicly lamenting that he did not send federal forces to the polls in 2020. So when and if the President orders the use of [DOJ/DHS/FBI/National Guard] in November, it will fall on you to make a fundamental choice on how to respond.”
Read the letters below:
Letter to Attorney General Blanche
Letter to Secretary Mullin
Letter to Director Patel
Letter to General Nordhaus
Background:
Slotkin also sent letters to General of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Caine and Secretary of Defense Hegseth asking for a written response and commitment to keep the U.S. military out of the midterm elections. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed in writing that the U.S. military has no plans to deploy federal troops or federalized National Guard members to polling places during the November 2026 midterm elections, and no plans to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-related materials. Secretary Hegseth has yet to respond.
In previous letters sent in 2020 and 2024 by Slotkin, General Mark Milley, General CQ Brown, Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Secretary Mark Esper, were each able to provide a response and confirm they would follow the law and our constitution—which is clear about military interference in our elections.
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