Top Intelligence Democrats Say They Expect Trump to Allege Midterm Fraud
The top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees said Wednesday that they are operating under the presumption that President Trump and his allies will allege fraud related to the 2026 midterm elections in order to justify election interference. NPR
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia spoke at a briefing for reporters on October 21, 2026. Himes is the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Warner holds the same post on the Senate panel. Both are members of the "Gang of Eight," the small group of senior lawmakers who oversee U.S. spy agencies and receive confidential intelligence briefings.
Warner said one way Trump could justify interference is by claiming foreign interference in the voting process. Himes and Warner said they told Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, who leads the intelligence community, and other intelligence leaders that they must be reachable by phone on and after Election Day if Trump alleges foreign interference.
The two lawmakers also accused Trump administration intelligence officials of failing to provide legally required pre-election reports to Congress. Those reports assess foreign efforts to meddle in elections and are due 120, 60 and 30 days before an election.
Himes and Warner said they received one classified report from the director's office on Tuesday, October 20. They described it as a "grab bag" of intelligence on foreign meddling, including Russian and Chinese campaigns. Warner said Russia is going after Democrats with misinformation, Iran is focused more on disruption in Europe and is more anti-Trump, and China is more selective, often targeting local races.
The issue has been building for months. On October 2, Himes and Warner issued a joint statement pressing for transparency on election security. In it, they said Trump continues to make false claims of voter fraud and threatens to take control of vote counting from the states. Reuters reported in July that Trump had renewed his effort to cast doubt on U.S. elections by declassifying intelligence he said exposed fraud.
