The chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, the country’s highest ranking military officer, has assured an opposition lawmaker that there are no plans to deploy troops to polling places during elections on November 3. Caine, who advises Hegseth and President Donald Trump on military matters, also wrote: “I have neither received nor anticipate receiving any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections.” Anxiety among Democrats that the Trump administration could try to meddle in the midterm elections has grown, particularly after the president deployed federal agents in Democratic-led states over the objections of local leaders. He said they were needed for immigration enforcement and due to crime and protests.
Slotkin told the AP earlier in August that Trump has been laying the groundwork to claim November’s elections will have been stolen. She noted that Trump contemplated using the military to seize voting machines after his loss in 2020 to President Joe Biden and has deployed the National Guard to cities against the wishes of Democratic leaders. He also deployed active-duty Marines to Los Angeles during his immigration crackdown in 2025.
Federal law prohibits the deployment of armed federal forces to election locations unless “necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States”. If any element of the military were to get involved, it would likely be the National Guard under state control. Sonja Thrasher, Slotkin’s press secretary, said Hegseth has not replied to the letter asking him to confirm troops won’t be deployed to the polls in November.
Slotkin had asked for a response by last Thursday. In 2020, General Mark Milley, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, responded to a similar letter from Slotkin, then a member of the US House of Representatives. Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the U.S. military.”
Extract — continue reading at the source.
