Padilla, Durbin, Warner, Peters Demand Answers on Trump Administration’s Efforts to Interfere in Midterm Elections

Ranking Members also press DOJ and FBI to provide information related to the agencies' coordination with DHS, the U.S. Intelligence Community, and the White House in these efforts to undermine our election security

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senators Mark Warner, Vice Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Gary Peters, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, demanded answers regarding the alarming series of actions the Trump Administration has undertaken to undermine state and local election administration.

In a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel, the Senators raised concerns about the extent of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) and FBI's coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Intelligence Community, and the White House in efforts to interfere with the midterm elections.

"Under your leadership, DOJ and the FBI have sought to upend our federalist system by seizing ballots and election materials, seeking the personal information of election workers and volunteers, showing up at the homes of election officials for questioning, threatening election officials with prosecution, attempting to compel states to provide the federal government with unredacted voter rolls, and raiding the offices of a voting rights nonprofit-often at the apparent behest of President Trump and White House officials, including Stephen Miller," wrote the Senators. "Director Patel has reportedly urged the FBI to persist in these fishing expeditions by exhorting agents to 'look harder' because 'this is a push from 47,' and senior DOJ officials have threatened to fire or override prosecutors who choose not to pursue election fraud cases that FBI or DHS agents bring them, in contravention of longstanding DOJ rules for prosecutors."

The Senators outlined the timeline of the Trump Administration's attempted efforts to undermine elections. The weaponization of DOJ and the FBI as part of this effort became clear last year, when the head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division (CRT) began filing lawsuits against multiple states to demand they produce unredacted copies of their voter registration lists. CRT sued Fulton County, Georgia last December, seeking records related to the 2020 election. Following this lawsuit, the FBI executed a search warrant at the Fulton County election office in Union City, Georgia.

Additionally, then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard inexplicably attended this raid-and escalated this breach of protocol the following day, when she met with FBI agents who had conducted the raid and called President Trump to address the agents.

"These efforts have occurred as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has taken unprecedented steps to investigate unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud and as the then-Director of National Intelligence took extraordinary steps to insert herself into an already-troubling FBI raid of a local election facility," continued the Senators. "Taken together, these actions constitute a disturbing, whole-of-government campaign that has weaponized federal law enforcement to relitigate the 2020 election that President Trump lost, attempting to undermine the constitutional election administration powers of states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and seeking to sow confusion and fear among voters and state and local election officials."

The Senators also raised concerns about Patel refusing to rule out sending FBI agents to polling locations on Election Day-an illegal tactic that would inevitably intimidate voters.

"The concern over this Administration engaging in intimidation tactics related to the election is not unwarranted," wrote the Senators. "Just one month before election day, President Trump continues to float the idea that he has legal authority to declare a national emergency or invoke the Insurrection Act around the midterms. Moreover, DOJ has already sought to intimidate election officials across the country."

Just this week, the DOJ attempted to escalate these efforts, laying the groundwork to potentially challenge ballots ahead of Election Day with a letter to California election officials, which demanded that they verify the citizenship of individuals listed in a DOJ-provided thumb drive within 48 hours and threatened legal action if they do not follow the Department's instructions on handling the ballots of these individuals.

"Furthermore, it is impossible to ignore the brazen partisan intentions behind these actions-not just due to President Trump's repeated, baseless accusations that Democrats must cheat to win elections, but in light of the unethical political actions you have each taken in recent weeks, including your appearances at an August campaign rally in New York, and Attorney General Blanche's appearance at the Republican Party's midterm convention in Texasand a campaign event in North Carolina for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley," the Senators concluded. "It is our constitutional duty to conduct oversight over these unprecedented abuses of power to improperly meddle with state and local election administration in the midterm elections that are already underway. The American people deserve to know why federal resources are being diverted from mission critical work to ensure their safety and instead devoted to this costly and, should it further escalate, potentially criminal crusade."

The Senators also noted that despite this brazen, partisan, and coordinated effort to undermine the constitutional structure of our democracy, the rule of law will prevail-countless patriotic Americans across the country are working tirelessly to combat this chaos and distrust and ensure that every eligible American is able to cast their ballot and that their vote is counted. Americans should have confidence that their voices will be heard in November and that these efforts by the Trump Administration to weaponize federal law enforcement to meddle in the midterm elections will ultimately fail.

Padilla has consistently advocated for protection against the Trump Administration's election interference efforts. Padilla joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in launching the first-ever Senate Election Observer Program to protect the 2026 midterms and maintain election integrity nationwide and serves as part of the Senate Democrats' Election Protection Task Force. Yesterday, Padilla announced that more than 100 Senate Democratic staff have been recruited and trained as official congressional election observers to be deployed to polling sites across nine states. Last month, Padilla introduced the Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act, legislation to protect voters and election workers from intimidation and threats of violence at polling places. Padilla also led the congressional response to the bombshell whistleblower report that DHS agents violated state laws as part of the "Unlawful Voter Initiative" and called for an immediate investigation into the agency's misconduct. Last month, Padilla also led his Senate colleagues in demanding DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin immediately halt the Department's efforts to assert federal control over, and undermine public trust in, the 2026 midterm elections. In August, Padilla and Warner led a group of colleagues in pressing the DOJ on their compliance with federal voting laws, cautioning against the misuse of any federal election monitors to target jurisdictions in a partisan manner or interfere with voting or state and local election officials' administration of the voting process.

Full letter is available here.

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