Warner: Trump EAC purge shows he wants no secure elections
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- Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on Sunday that President Trump's primetime speech shows he "is not looking for a secure election," criticizing the address as unserious on election security
- Warner highlighted the recent firings of the remaining Democratic members at the Elections Assistance Commission earlier this month as evidence contradicting Trump's rhetoric
- Trump used his primetime address to push the SAVE Act and alleged "stunning" Chinese election interference alongside claims of a "deep state" coverup
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) threatened to stall the SAVE America Act in the Senate, going "scorched-earth" on the legislation even from inside the GOP
- The Elections Assistance Commission is an independent agency that works with local election officials, and Warner's comments frame the Democratic firings as gutting that infrastructure
Why it matters: Warner is publicly arguing that the EAC purge and the primetime speech are two sides of the same coin — hollowing out the independent body that supports local election administration while publicly demanding election security legislation — and that contradiction could shape the Senate fight over the SAVE Act, which already faces intra-GOP resistance from Tillis.
