WASHINGTON — The highest‑ranking officer in the United States military has formally told a Michigan senator that the Trump administration will not use federal troops or National Guard members to staff or secure polling places in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections.
Letter to Senator Slotkin
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin confirming, “The Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections.” He added that the military will not be used to seize ballots, voting machines, or any other election‑related material.
Caine also noted that he has not received, nor does he anticipate receiving, any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming elections. The letter, obtained by the Associated Press, was sent after Sen. Slotkin asked both Gen. Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm the military would stay out of the voting process.
Context of Democratic concerns
Democrats have voiced anxiety that the Trump administration could attempt to interfere with the vote, citing past actions such as the deployment of federal agents to Democratic‑run states and the use of National Guard troops in cities during the 2025 immigration crackdown. Sen. Slotkin warned that President Trump has previously floated the idea of using the military to seize voting machines after his loss in the 2020 election.
Federal law permits the deployment of armed federal forces to election sites only when it is “necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.” In practice, any involvement of the military in elections would likely come from the National Guard under state authority, not from active‑duty forces.
Administration’s response
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles denied in a Vanity Fair interview last year that President Trump would use the military to suppress voting in the midterms. Defense Secretary Hegseth has not yet responded to Sen. Slotkin’s request for a written confirmation, and the Pentagon did not immediately comment on the status of that response.
During an April congressional hearing, Sen. Slotkin asked Secretary Hegseth whether he would follow any order to seize ballots. Hegseth described the question as a “gotcha hypothetical” and affirmed, “I’ve never been ordered to do anything illegal, and I won’t.”
Historical precedent
The issue is not new. In 2020, then‑Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley responded to a similar inquiry from Slotkin, then a congresswoman, emphasizing his belief in an apolitical military. Milley wrote, “I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical U.S. military… courts and Congress, not the military, resolve election disputes.”
Gen. Caine’s reassurance aligns with that longstanding principle, underscoring the military’s commitment to remain neutral in the democratic process while the nation prepares for a pivotal midterm election.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
