President Donald Trump recently called on Republicans to “nationalize” elections to avoid widespread voter fraud.
As it stands currently, each state manages elections — including for federal candidates. Trump seeks to have the federal government take over voting procedures to prevent cheating. “The state acts as an agent of the federal government in elections,” Trump said while addressing reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “I don’t understand why the federal government doesn’t handle them anyway.”
This wasn’t the first time Trump called for nationalizing elections. During a Monday appearance on the Dan Bongino Show, he said, “the Republicans should declare, 'We want to take charge. We should oversee voting in at least 15 areas.' The Republicans should nationalize the election process."
He further argued that if blue states are allowing illegal immigrants to vote, it will affect election outcomes. “If Republicans don’t get them out, we will never win another election as a Republican.”
Donald Trump went on Dan Bongino’s show and said Republicans should nationalize elections across the country so they can take it over. We need to take him very seriously when he says things like this. pic.twitter.com/RndIq47CCZ
— Mike Nellis (@MikeNellis) February 2, 2026
When asked about Trump’s idea, House Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t go as far as supporting it, but agreed that there are problems with the electoral process, especially in Democrat-run states.
“What you're hearing from the President is his frustration about the lack of some of the blue states, frankly, of enforcing these things and making sure that they are free and fair elections,” Johnson said. “We need constant improvement on that front. I don't know what the ultimate solution is going to be. I'm not going to get ahead of the negotiations here, but I think that is something that's going to be a continuing theme here.”
He continued:
It's something that we'll continue to push, and we hope the governors will insist upon that same thing as well. In some of the states, like in California, for example, they hold the elections open for weeks after election day. That's just one thing that bothers so many people. We had three House Republican candidates who were ahead on election day in the last election cycle. Every time a new tranche of ballots came in, they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost. In no series of ballots that were counted after election day were our candidates ahead on any of those counts.
Mike Johnson on Trump calling for Rs to "nationalize" elections: "We had 3 Republican candidates who were ahead on election day in last cycle, and every time a new tranche of ballots came in they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost. It looks on its face to be… pic.twitter.com/wmeatnYZcF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 3, 2026
What would nationalizing elections look like?
It could mean imposing federal voter ID requirements, banning mail-in voting, and establishing federal control over vote counting in certain states. It would mean the federal government would have full control over how Americans vote in national elections.
Several critics have spoken out against the idea. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) rejected the proposal, according to The Hill, arguing that he does not support having the GOP take over voting procedures. Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also pushed back, saying the plan would violate the Constitution, which grants states the authority to manage their own elections.
However, some Republicans support the idea, and have introduced the “Make Elections Great Again Act,” which mirrors Trump’s idea, Newsweek reported. The bill would require voter ID laws and prohibit universal mail-in voting.
Rep. Bryan Steil (WI-1) said, “Americans must have faith that their elections are conducted with integrity, which includes sensible voter ID laws, accurate voter rolls, and verification of citizenship.” So far, 38 Republican lawmakers are backing the bill.
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