After Trump Threatens To “Take Over The Voting,” Padilla, Schiff, Senate Democrats Warn Trump Agency Heads: No Cover-Ups, Preserve All Election Records

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and California's former Secretary of State, and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and 17 other Senate Democrats, including every Ranking Member of committees overseeing agencies with election roles, in warning executive agency heads to comply with all preservation laws and agency policies after the Administration ramped up its threats against free and fair elections.

In a letter to Trump's agency heads, including Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Senators demanded that the department heads not destroy records to cover up possible election tampering efforts.

Without a shred of evidence, President Trump and his Administration have alleged election fraud and on multiple occasions have attempted to undermine past election results. Citing debunked conspiracy theories, the FBI raided an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, where then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard seized voting machines. As Trump continues to spread unsupported claims about election fraud and has repeatedly threatened an illegal federal takeover of our elections, nonpartisan experts have warned about this Administration's growing efforts to subvert the 2026 midterms, and Senate Democrats are taking formal action to preserve a paper trail from every department concerning all election-related matters.

"We are also deeply troubled by the fact that many of your agencies have failed to address election security altogether. You have shuttered offices tasked with tracking foreign malign influence on elections as well as cyber and physical threats to elections infrastructure, and you have cut funding and personnel for CISA and FBI election security efforts," wrote the Senators. "The American public deserve to have confidence that their leaders are acting in good faith and in accordance with the law. We therefore direct you to preserve all existing and future records and materials on election-related activities and efforts, including any records regarding potential election-related misconduct, impropriety, irregularity, or interference."

In addition to Padilla, Schiff, Schumer, and Warner, the letter was signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).

This demand builds on other efforts that Senate Democrats have undertaken to ensure that Trump and Republicans don't interfere in free and fair elections. Earlier this year, Padilla, Schumer, and Senate Democrats unveiled the most expansive election protection effort the caucus has ever undertaken: the Election Protection Task Force. The Task Force recently launched the first-ever Senate Election Observer Program to protect the 2026 midterms and maintain election integrity nationwide, and Senate Democrats are working regularly with top election experts to identify and mitigate threats to upcoming U.S. elections. The Task Force will continue meeting over the coming months to ensure that every American has fair access to the ballot box this November.

Padilla has consistently championed election security and voting rights issues. Last week, Padilla and Schumer convened a Rules Committee Democrats and Senate Democrats' Election Protection Task Force spotlight forum focused on state and local responses to combat efforts by the Trump Administration to undermine election administration in the upcoming midterm elections. Padilla and his Senate colleagues also demanded answers from Trump Administration officials about their lack of election security preparation, insufficient coordination with Congress and election officials, and unsupported public claims about voting system vulnerabilities.

Full letter is available here and below:

Dear all:

We write regarding alarming reports that your agencies have taken, or are at risk of taking actions under the guise of election security that are improper or illegal; to warn against such violations; and to ensure you adhere to your obligations, and those of all departments, agencies, and sub-agencies under your control, to comply with all applicable federal records preservation laws and agency policies.

President Trump and his Administration have engaged in multiple efforts to undermine past election results, despite all evidence the elections were free and fair.In just the last several months, for example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a search of a Fulton County, Georgia, election center, where agents seized ballots from the 2020 presidential election, even though numerous bipartisan and nonpartisan prior investigations at the state and federal level have revealed no suggestion of criminal conduct. The then-Director of National Intelligence participated in this raid despite no evidence or suggestion of foreign interference in that election, raising serious questions about potential improper coordination between the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and federal law enforcement agencies outside of ODNI's statutory authorities. Similarly, ODNI seized voting machines and other election data from Puerto Rico, reportedly in support of the Administration's amplification of baseless election conspiracy theories. Then-Director Gabbard also made unsubstantiated claims that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was aware of, but did not disclose, election vulnerabilities.

There are also serious concerns about ongoing efforts by this Administration to undermine the integrity of and actively interfere with the 2026 elections. President Trump has threatened "[t]he federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the vote." Several of you have refused to rule out the possibility that you would direct your departments and agencies to send federal law enforcement agents or military service members under your jurisdiction to election sites during the election period - steps that are clearly illegal. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has repeatedly pursued unsupported claims of elections fraud.

Several of you are also involved in implementing President Trump's unlawful Executive Orders interfering with state and local control over the administration of elections. For example, Secretary Lutnick is threatening to withhold the delivery of lawful ballots unless states comply with President Trump's unconstitutional attempt to "take over the voting." Further, individuals at the Social Security Administration (SSA) inappropriately entered into a secret agreement to share sensitive data with a partisan advocacy group for partisan political purposes - and SSA has to date refused to provide Congress with unredacted documentation of these activities. Chairman Carr has repeatedly used his position to chill disfavored speech, and continues to make threats to interfere with candidates' ability to reach their audiences.

We are also deeply troubled by the fact that many of your agencies have failed to address election security altogether. You have shuttered offices tasked with tracking foreign malign influence on elections as well as cyber and physical threats to elections infrastructure, and you have cut funding and personnel for CISA and FBI election security efforts.

The American public deserve to have confidence that their leaders are acting in good faith and in accordance with the law. We therefore direct you to preserve all existing and future records and materials on election-related activities and efforts, including any records regarding potential election-related misconduct, impropriety, irregularity, or interference. Such records include, but are not limited to, all meeting agendas and rosters, associated notes, briefing memos, legal opinions, guidance, advice, communications, and correspondence. Additionally, any communications on personal messaging accounts, including Signal, social media accounts, and personal email accounts, that concern government business are subject to the Federal Records Act and must be preserved.

Safeguarding information critical to congressional oversight and preserving federal records is a legal obligation that you and all of your agency employees are required to meet. Please take all necessary steps to ensure that employees do not delete or destroy any official government records, including "information created, manipulated, or stored" electronically.

As you know, any employee who conceals, destroys, or attempts to conceal or destroy a federal record may be subject to fine and imprisonment.

Sincerely,

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