Thune Pushes Back on Federal Control of Voting
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., rejected President Donald Trump’s idea to nationalize elections. He emphasized that he supports “decentralized, distributed power” in U.S. elections.
On former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s podcast, Trump criticized Republicans for not taking a stronger stance on elections. He suggested the GOP should control voting in multiple states, calling some states “so crooked.”
Constitutional Limits Keep Elections Local
Thune said federalizing elections would violate the Constitution. He stressed that only citizens should vote and must show proper ID at polling places.
He also noted that Democrats had previously tried similar efforts, but Republicans defeated those proposals. Thune argued decentralization is safer: “It’s harder to hack 50 election systems than one centralized system.”
SAVE Act and Voting Reform Debate
The discussion comes as Congress considers the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The bill, which passed the House, would require states to verify citizenship in person when registering voters and remove noncitizens from rolls. A modified version gaining traction would also require photo ID for voting.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized both Trump’s comments and the SAVE Act. He called the legislation “Jim Crow 2.0,” saying it federalizes voter suppression rather than protecting elections.
Context: Fulton County Raid
Trump made his remarks after the FBI raided an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia. Authorities seized 2020 election records, including voter rolls. The raid has intensified debates over election security and reform.
