Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday reiterated President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, citing data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that election experts say lacks transparency.
Mullin's Claims and Expert Rebuttal
During a press conference, Mullin stated that DHS had identified "250,000 noncitizens registered to vote in California, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada." He also claimed that 28,000 noncitizens were found on voter rolls across more than 20 states that cooperated with the administration's Save program, a tool to verify citizenship status.
However, David Becker, executive director of the non-partisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, noted that the administration has not been "transparent about the methodology" behind these numbers. Becker acknowledged the 28,000 figure seems plausible but emphasized it represents only 0.04% of the 68 million eligible voters in those states. "One thing that I love about numbers, and I love about facts is they don't lie," Mullin told reporters, despite the lack of independent verification.
Baseless Conspiracy Theories on Voting Machines
Mullin also repeated Trump's baseless claims that voting machines are unsafe and insecure, contradicting election officials and cybersecurity experts who consistently state that machines are not connected to the internet and undergo rigorous testing before each election.
Threat to Withhold FEMA Funding
Secretary Mullin reiterated a threat to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funding from states that do not cooperate with election security measures. "If they're not willing to do it, it should raise serious questions. It's not that hard. This isn't a partisan issue," he said. The federal government has previously sought access to state voter rolls containing personal data, but states have refused, leading to lawsuits the administration lost.
Trump Media Plans Paid Access to Truth Social
In other news, Trump's media company announced plans to charge for high-speed access to Truth Social posts, including possibly those of the president. The move, announced Thursday, would allow Wall Street firms to get news first from top contributors to profit from market moves. Unlike similar offers on rival platforms, the most popular poster is Trump himself, who as the largest shareholder of the publicly traded parent company would directly benefit.
