Former White House strategist Steve Bannon intensified controversy over election administration by endorsing President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Republicans should “nationalize” voting and by saying immigration agents should be present at polling sites for the 2026 midterm elections.

Speaking on his War Room podcast, Bannon said federal agents should oversee voting.

“You’re damn right we’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November,” he said. “We’re not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again. And you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen.”

Bannon’s support followed Trump’s recent comments in a podcast interview with conservative host Dan Bongino, in which the former president said he believes the Republican Party should take greater control of elections.

“The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said.

The remarks prompted swift backlash from lawmakers and legal scholars, who noted that the Constitution assigns primary responsibility for administering elections to the states.

Election law experts and Republican leaders responded with caution. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said he does not support federalizing election administration. “I’m not in favor of federalizing elections,” Thune told reporters, noting the Constitution assigns election oversight to states.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that she has not heard Trump discuss a formal plan to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at polling sites, but she also declined to guarantee that ICE agents would not be near voting locations during the midterms.

“I can’t guarantee an ICE agent won’t be around a polling location in November,” Leavitt said at a press briefing.

Legal scholars say federal agents at polling places could raise questions under laws that prohibit the use of federal forces where elections are held. Federal statute forbids the use of military forces to influence elections, and state laws in several jurisdictions bar firearms or armed enforcement at polling sites.

Democrats criticized the rhetoric as a threat to voting rights. Several Democratic governors issued a joint statement saying the president’s comments amount to a direct challenge to the constitutional role states play in election administration.

Voting rights advocates have expressed concern that the presence of any federal enforcement officers, even outside polling places, could suppress turnout among minority communities. Critics also noted that courts and bipartisan election officials have repeatedly found no evidence of widespread fraud in recent elections.