Top US general says military has no plans to send troops to polling places in November
The highest-ranking officer in the S. military has told a Democratic senator that the armed forces have no plans to deploy to polling places or seize election materials during the November midterm elections, addressing concerns that the Trump administration could use the military to interfere with the vote.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the statement in a letter to Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who recently asked Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm they won't send troops to the polls. The letter was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
"The Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections," Caine wrote, according to the letter. "Likewise, the Joint Force has no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-related material."
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."
Concerns over military involvement in 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 the elections were stolen. She noted that Trump contemplated using the military to seize voting machines after his loss in 2020 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."
Slotkin, who serves on the Senate armed services and homeland security committees, sought confirmation from Caine and Hegseth after Trump urged Republicans to "nationalize" elections and said he had not ruled out sending guard members or immigration enforcement agents to the polls.
The senator had asked both men to respond by 28 August, according to The Guardian. Slotkin's office has not yet received a reply from Hegseth, said Sonja Thrasher, her press secretary.
Hegseth's earlier comments
During an April congressional hearing, Hegseth called Slotkin's question a "gotcha hypothetical," according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, but said he has never been ordered to do anything illegal. Slotkin had asked Hegseth during the hearing if he would follow orders to seize ballots, a question she also posed to Caine.
White House denial
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles denied in a Vanity Fair interview last year that Trump would use the military to suppress voting in the midterms.
Precedent from 2020
The current exchange echoes a similar one from 2020, when Gen. Mark Milley, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, responded to a similar letter from Slotkin. In that letter, Milley wrote: "I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical S. military."
The assurance from Caine comes as Democrats remain wary of the administration's past actions, including the deployment of federal agents in Democratic-led states and the president's statements about not ruling out sending guard members or immigration enforcement agents to the polls. Caine's letter, however, explicitly states that the Joint Force has no such plans for the upcoming elections.