Trump 'Never Heard About' Plan to Declare National Emergency Before Midterms

President Donald Trump on Friday said he has "never heard about" the idea of declaring a national emergency ahead of the 2026 midterm elections with an executive order that would expand his authority over voting.

Trump's comments came a day after The Washington Post reported that pro-Trump activists who claim to be coordinating with the White House have circulated a draft executive order that would cite alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election as grounds for declaring a national emergency just before November's midterms.

"Who told you that?" Trump told reporters when asked about the report Friday.

"No," he said when pressed on whether he was considering it, adding, "I've never heard about it."

Election law experts say the order, if issued, would almost certainly face immediate court challenges because the Constitution largely leaves the administration of elections to the states while giving Congress authority to set rules for federal contests.

The draft order would seek to use emergency powers to reshape election administration ahead of the midterms, which are scheduled for Nov. 3, when all 435 U.S. House seats and dozens of Senate and governor races will be on the ballot.

Florida lawyer Peter Ticktin told the newspaper he has had "certain coordination" with White House officials, though the White House declined to comment to the outlet about Trump's plans.

"President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections, and that includes totally accurate and up-to-date voter rolls free of errors and unlawfully registered non-citizen voters," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to the news outlet.

"The President has urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting."

Trump has long denied his 2020 election loss and continues to assert the race was rigged, claims that were rejected by courts and repeatedly disputed by state and federal reviews.

Even as he rejected talk of an emergency declaration Friday, Trump has intensified calls for new federal voting requirements before the midterms, framing the push as an election integrity effort.

At this week's State of the Union address, Trump urged lawmakers to pass the House-approved Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register and generally require voter identification for federal elections, a major change from current registration practices in many states.

"Congress should unite and enact this commonsense, country-saving legislation right now. And it should be before anything else happens," Trump said.

Trump has also signaled he may act unilaterally if the Senate does not approve the measure, escalating a pressure campaign that has alarmed voting rights advocates and some election officials who say federal mandates could collide with state systems and existing federal law.

"There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!" Trump wrote on Truth Social this month.

Last March, Trump signed an executive order directing states to require documentary proof of citizenship and directing the attorney general to target states that count mail ballots received after Election Day, steps that critics called unlawful and that election administrators warned could create confusion for voters and local officials.

A federal judge later blocked key parts of that order after legal challenges argued it exceeded presidential authority, and the litigation has continued through appeals and related cases.

The renewed focus on voting rules comes as the 2026 election cycle is already underway, with primary contests beginning in several states and as both parties brace for a midterm environment that can quickly shift based on the economy, foreign policy, and presidential approval.