Trump wants armed federal agents at polling sites, DHS chief says NOPE
Impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. President Donald Trump has been demanding of late that armed federal law enforcement agents be placed at polling sites throughout the nation on voting day. The top homeland security official said on Sunday that his department does not have the authority to carry out any such demand by Trump.
"That's not what we do at the Department of Homeland Security," Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said on CNN'S "State of the Union." "We have express authorities authorized by Congress and this is not one of them," he continued.
From Reuters:
Trump has said repeatedly and without evidence that a shift to universal mail-in voting - something most states have not proposed doing - will lead to fraud in the Nov. 3 election. The Republican president is running against Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who currently holds a substantial lead in public opinion polls.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that law enforcement, including sheriffs and U.S. attorneys, would be deployed to polling stations around the country to stop fraud.
Read more at Reuters.
WATCH: The acting director of the Department of Homeland Security said he didn't have the authority to send officers to watch polling sites, after President Trump said he would deploy law enforcement to monitor voting in the November election https://t.co/6roOdQmASm pic.twitter.com/Yqkob7UW8d
- Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) August 23, 2020