In the News
13News Now: Virginia Sen. Warner Says Trump’s Push to Nationalize Elections Threatens Democracy
Feb 04 2026
Virginia Sen. Warner says Trump’s push to nationalize elections threatens democracy
By Kathleen Lundy
In 13News Now
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner on Tuesday warned that former President Donald Trump is escalating what he called a dangerous threat to free and fair elections, following Trump’s renewed push to nationalize voting.
Speaking during a news conference as part of his intelligence oversight role, Warner said recent actions and rhetoric blur long-standing legal and constitutional boundaries separating the White House, law enforcement, intelligence agencies and elections.
“The strength of our democracy depends upon clear lines between politics and law enforcement, between intelligence and criminal investigations, and most importantly between the White House and the ballot box,” Warner said. “What happened in Georgia last week erased those lines.”
Warner stressed his concerns are not about relitigating the 2020 election.
“This is not about the 2020 election,” Warner said. “That election has been litigated, audited, recounted, and repeatedly upheld by courts and election officials, including lots and lots of Republican election officials. This is frankly about what comes next.”
He pointed directly to Trump’s comments calling for Republicans to take over and nationalize voting in multiple states, warning the threat is forward-looking and could impact future elections.
“That statement alone makes clear that this threat to our election security, the basic premise of our democracy, is forward-looking — the 2026 and 2028 elections,” Warner said. “This is about whether these same tactics we’re seeing now, or worse, will be used to disrupt free and fair elections.”
According to ABC News, President Trump doubled down Tuesday on his controversial proposal, repeating false claims of widespread voter fraud and again refusing to accept his 2020 loss.
“If a state can’t run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it,” Trump said during a bill signing in the Oval Office surrounded by Republican lawmakers, according to ABC News. “Because, if you think about it, the state is an agent for the federal government in elections. I don’t know why the federal government doesn’t do ’em anyway.”
Trump added that in some cases, “The federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the votes. If they can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take it over,” ABC News reported.
Warner said those comments, combined with recent federal actions in Georgia, raise serious constitutional concerns — particularly the involvement of Tulsi Gabbard, who was present during an FBI operation at a local elections office in Fulton County.
“It is inappropriate for the Director of National Intelligence to insert herself into a domestic law-enforcement operation far outside her statutory role,” Warner said. “The Director of National Intelligence does not conduct criminal investigations. She has no role executing search warrants, and she does not belong on the scene of a domestic FBI search.”
Warner warned that intelligence agencies are legally structured to operate overseas — not on domestic soil — and said laws enacted after abuses during the Nixon era were designed to prevent exactly this kind of political interference.
When taken together, Warner said, the president’s rhetoric and recent federal actions point to an effort to shape future election outcomes.
“When you put all of this together, it is clear that what happened in Fulton County is not about revisiting the past,” Warner said. “It is about shaping the outcome of future elections and dismantling the very guardrails that were put in place to keep them free and fair.”
Warner said he is calling on Gabbard to testify under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying Americans deserve elections “safe from political intimidation” and a justice system that operates independently.
“If it doesn’t scare the heck out of you,” Warner said, “it should.”
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