Slotkin demands written assurances from Hegseth and Caine that no troops will be sent to polls, citing Trump's refusal to rule out nationalizing the midterm elections.
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WASHINGTON – Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, sent letters Monday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine demanding written confirmation that no military personnel will be deployed to polling places this year.
Slotkin asked both men to confirm the Pentagon "will not send Federal troops to the polls or to seize election materials of any kind." Her office released the letters Tuesday.
The Justice Department said Tuesday it plans to send about 1,000 poll watchers to elections this year. It has already deployed roughly 75 to primaries in heavily Democratic cities.
Slotkin pointed to President Donald Trump's recent comments about nationalizing the midterm elections. In a conversation last week with conservative commentator Wayne Root, Trump was asked if he would declare a national emergency to federalize the midterms. "Let me just say that stranger things have happened, OK? I'll leave it at that," Trump replied.
The president told the New York Times earlier this year that he regretted not sending the National Guard to seize voting machines in swing states after the 2020 election, which he still falsely claims he won.
"It is hard to miss that the President is laying the groundwork to send troops to the polls during the midterm elections," Slotkin wrote. "President Trump has made clear his belief that the only way Republicans can lose the midterms is if they are stolen."
Slotkin's letters cited federal law that already makes it a crime to use the military to interfere in elections, including seizing ballots or voting equipment. Her office said Hegseth "has repeatedly declined to rule out using troops in this way, going so far as to make false claims to Congress to get out of answering."
The senator reminded both men of constitutional limits. "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. Thus, our nation's senior-most defense and security leaders are the final failsafe for our democracy," Slotkin wrote.
She serves on the Senate Armed Services, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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