Trump Calls to ‘Nationalize’ Elections, as the GOP Debates Tightening Voter ID

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Donald Trump says the federal government should "take over the voting" in many places, drawing pushback from Republicans, who argue that the Constitution creates a decentralized system. Plus, Congress weighs a bill to require citizenship checks in voting, meaning many driver's licenses wouldn't qualify as ID. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:37.4	From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch. Donald Trump calls on Republicans
0:40.6	to nationalize voting, drawing pushback from GOP senators, including Majority Leader John Thune,
0:47.5	as Congress takes up debate on the Save America Act to require citizenship checks for voter
0:53.3	registration.
0:57.9	Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal.
1:04.0	We're joined today by my colleagues on the opinion pages, columnist Kim Strassel and Barton Swain.
1:05.8	For four years, Republicans resisted Democratic efforts under Joe Biden to nationalize federal elections.
1:12.5	Back when Nancy Pelosi wanted to pass H.R.1, a bill to enshrine pandemic mail voting as a permanent
1:19.0	feature of American elections. Yet now it's President Trump, who's calling on Republicans to take
1:24.7	over vote counting in at least some states.
1:33.4	Here he is earlier this week on a podcast with Dan Bongino, the former Deputy FBI Director.
1:38.1	These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally.
1:42.0	And the, you know, amazing that the Republicans aren't tougher on it.
1:44.8	The Republicans should say, we want to take over.
	...

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