President Donald Trump on Friday said he will issue an executive order “shortly” laying out the “legal reasons” for national voter-identification requirements.
Trump, in posts late Friday to Truth Social, said he wants voter-ID laws implemented for the 2026 midterm elections, even though legislation mandating them appears poised to stall in Congress.
“The Democrats refuse to vote for Voter I.D., or Citizenship. The reason is very simple — They want to continue to cheat in Elections,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
“This was not what our Founders desired. I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future. There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!” he continued.
In a second post, published minutes after the first, Trump said, “If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”
Under pressure from Trump, his allies in the House and Senate and conservative online influencers, the issue of voter ID has dominated social media and reverberated through the halls of Congress in recent days. Trump’s comments have also raised fears among Democrats and voting-rights groups that the president could try to intervene in this year’s pivotal midterm elections, as Republicans try to hold on to slim majorities in both chambers.
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, Feb. 13, 2026.
Samuel Corum | Sipa | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The House on Wednesday advanced, 218-213, a Trump-backed elections bill, dubbed the SAVE America Act, that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. All but one Democrat voted against the proposal, which critics argue could disenfranchise millions and make it harder for people including women whose birth certificates would not show a married name to register.
It now moves to the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Republicans hold just 53 seats in the chamber — and one, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has come out against the proposal. More than a handful of Democrats would have to support the legislation for it to succeed. Only one Senate Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has supported national voter-ID requirements, though he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week that he doesn’t support other voting restrictions such as limiting mail-in ballots.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has vowed that Democrats will block the bill, calling it “dead on arrival.”
“The SAVE Act is not a mainstream bill whatsoever. It’s a fringe piece of legislation that has now taken over the Republican Party, masquerading as election security when it’s really about laying the groundwork to meddle in the midterm elections and make it much harder for people to vote,” Schumer said from the Senate floor this week.
Trump has recently said he wants to nationalize federal elections and revived election conspiracies, launching an FBI investigation into the election results in Fulton County, Georgia, a state the president has repeatedly and without evidence said he won in 2020.
States are granted control of most aspects of U.S. elections under the Constitution.
In his second post on Friday, Trump cast the midterms in existential terms.
“(T)hese Corrupt and Deranged Democrats, if they ever gain power, will not only be adding two States to our roster of 50, with all of the baggage thereto, but will also PACK THE COURT with a total of 21 Supreme Court Justices, THEIR DREAM, which they will submit easily and rapidly when they immediately move to terminate the Filibuster, probably in their first week, or sooner,” Trump wrote.
“Our Country will never be the same if they allow these demented and evil people to knowingly, and happily, destroy it. Thank you for your attention to this matter — SAVE AMERICA!,” he continued.