Krishnamoorthi and McMaster Warn Against Deploying Troops to 2026 Polling Places at House Intelligence Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, today questioned witnesses during the committee's hearing, "25 Years After 9/11: Confronting the Next Generation of Threats," after President Trump recently refused to rule out deploying the National Guard or ICE to polling places during the 2026 elections. During the hearing, retired Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster reaffirmed that discussing a military role in U.S. elections is "irresponsible" and warned that doing so is "extremely dangerous and damaging" because it threatens to politicize the armed forces.

Krishnamoorthi raised the issue during an exchange with retired Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, who had previously warned before the 2020 election that discussing the military's role in elections was “irresponsible.”

Congressman Krishnamoorthi: In September 2020, before the November 2020 election, President Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, suggesting he could invoke the Insurrection Act to involve the military. In response, you told Meet the Press that it was 'irresponsible' to discuss the military's role in the 2020 election. You said that, right? And now, as we approach the 2026 elections, President Trump again is not ruling out sending the National Guard or ICE to polling places. General, I assume it's again irresponsible to discuss the military's role in the upcoming 2026 election, right? 

General H.R. McMaster: Yes. I think it's really important to recognize that our founders, 250 years ago, were most concerned about the military becoming involved in politics, and George Washington set the example during our Revolution. Lately, there has been a tendency to lay out an expectation that the military should be a check on executive authority or should be an arm of the executive authority in activities such as this, which threaten to politicize the military. I think it's extremely dangerous and damaging to that bold line that has to remain in place between our military and partisan politics. 

Following the exchange, Krishnamoorthi warned that President Trump's recent comments risk politicizing the military.

“President Trump's willingness to discuss deploying the military to polling places undermines one of the oldest and most important traditions of our democracy. The American people deserve elections decided by voters—not by intimidation. Our armed forces have earned the trust of the American people by remaining above partisan politics, and we should keep it that way,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said.

Krishnamoorthi also questioned witnesses about the Trump Administration's decision to condition counterterrorism funding on election-related mandates, pressing them on whether redirecting homeland security resources in that way could leave the nation less prepared to confront evolving threats.

He also pressed witnesses on the growing national security implications of artificial intelligence, including the threat that AI-generated deepfakes and other synthetic media could be exploited by foreign adversaries to manipulate public opinion, undermine confidence in democratic institutions, and threaten national security.

Video of Krishnamoorthi's questioning is available here.