Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., threw cold water on President Donald Trump's insistence that Republicans move to nationalize elections. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., rejected the notion. He said that while he was supportive of only citizens voting and showing identification at polling places to do so, he was not in "favor of federalizing elections."
"That's a constitutional issue. You gotta be a citizen to vote in our elections," Thune said.
Trump’s ability to morph and shape the election landscape runs into constitutional barriers, notably that elections are run by state and local officials in all 50 states. The federal government has a limited role in that process.
WATCHDOG SOUNDS ALARM OVER POTENTIAL NONCITIZEN VOTING AND FOREIGN INFLUENCE AHEAD OF MIDTERMS
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., hold a joint news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Trump’s suggestion came after the FBI raided an election hub in Fulton County, Ga., where federal law enforcement officials were authorized to seize election records, voting rolls and other data tied to the 2020 election.
It also comes as congressional Republicans wrestle with the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which previously passed the House but has not gotten a vote in the Senate.
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That legislation would require states to obtain proof of citizenship in-person when people register to vote and remove noncitizens from voter rolls. A modified version of the bill gaining steam among conservatives would require photo ID when voting.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed Trump’s comments and the SAVE Act and affirmed that the bill would never pass through the Senate.
"Now as for the SAVE Act itself: it has nothing to do with protecting our elections and everything to do with federalizing voter suppression," Schumer said. "The SAVE Act is nothing more than Jim Crow 2.0."
Thune rejected the idea, citing constitutional concerns about federalizing elections
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/thune-rejects-trumps-call-nationalize-elections-warns-dems-tried-same