Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has formally requested that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provide a public guarantee that U.S. service members will not be deployed to any polling locations during the upcoming midterm elections.
In letters dispatched Monday, Slotkin asked both leaders to confirm that the Pentagon "will not send Federal troops to the polls or to seize election materials of any kind," describing the request as a "simple statement." The senator, who serves on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, pointed to President Trump's recent comments about potentially nationalizing the midterms as a cause for concern.
During an interview with conservative commentator Wayne Root last week, Trump suggested that "stranger things have happened" when asked about declaring a national security emergency to federalize the elections. He has also told The New York Times that he regrets not deploying National Guard troops to seize voting machines in swing states after the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
Trump has persistently and falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread voter fraud, a narrative that Slotkin argues is laying groundwork for military involvement in the electoral process. "It is hard to miss that the President is laying the groundwork to send troops to the polls during the midterm elections," she wrote. "President Trump has made clear his belief that the only way Republicans can lose the midterms is if they are stolen."
The Michigan Democrat, a former CIA analyst, emphasized that federal law prohibits the use of military forces at polling places except to "repel armed enemies" of the United States. She pressed Hegseth and Caine to commit to upholding that legal barrier and to resist any presidential order that would violate it.
"The nonpartisan tradition of military service and the constitutional guardrails that prevent our military from becoming a domestic police force for one political party are essential to maintaining our democracy," Slotkin wrote. "Thus, our nation's senior-most defense and security leaders are the final failsafe for our democracy."
The request comes as the Justice Department announced it will deploy 1,000 poll monitors during the midterms, according to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. The DOJ said it has already placed more than 75 monitors in five states during the primary season. While that move is separate from military involvement, it underscores the heightened attention on election security.
The Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs have not yet responded to requests for comment on Slotkin's letters. The senator's appeal echoes similar concerns raised by other Democrats, including a recent call for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stay away from polling sites in Wisconsin. It also aligns with broader scrutiny of Trump's rhetoric and its potential impact on election integrity.
Slotkin's intervention highlights the delicate balance between ensuring free and fair elections and avoiding any appearance of military interference in the democratic process. As the midterms approach, her demand for clarity from the nation's top defense officials serves as a pointed reminder of the legal and ethical boundaries that govern the armed forces' role in domestic affairs.
