In what many have called another tactic of voter suppression, President Trump has hinted at sending law enforcement agents to polling place across the country.
However, Department of Homeland Security’s acting secretary Chad Wolf told CNN Sunday neither he nor President Trump has the authority to do such a thing.
“We don’t have any authority to do that at the department,” acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
When asked by Tapper if Trump asked Wolf to send federal agents to polling locations, Wolf said voting oversight is not a job for the agency.
“No, absolutely, he has not. Again, that’s not what we do at the Department of Homeland Security.” Wolf told Tapper. “We have law enforcement authorities and law enforcement officers at the department, we have express authorities given to us by Congress and this is not one of them,” he said, adding, “This is not a mission for the Department of Homeland Security.”
tom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad2">Trump initially made the comments during the call-in interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“We’re gonna have everything,” Trump told Hannity. “We’re gonna have sheriffs and we’re gonna have law enforcement and we’re going to have, hopefully, US attorneys, and we’re going to have everybody, and attorney generals.”
Federal law prohibits intimidation at polling locations and for any “civil” or “military” federal officer to order “troops or armed men” to polling places, unless needed to “repel armed enemies of the United States.”
Trump has repeated unfounded claims of voter fraud in recent months attacking mail-in voting. The NAACP, private citizens, and more than 20 states have already filed lawsuits against Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for their actions, which include pulling post office boxes and disconnecting sorting machines in multiple states.
DeJoy told the Senate last week that he would suspend all changes to the agency until after the election, but many believe the damage is already done.