White House Says It 'Can't Guarantee' ICE Won't Be at The Polls After Bannon Calls on Agency to 'Surround' Voting Sites

The White House said it "can't guarantee" that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will not be present near polling locations during November's midterm elections after former White House strategist Steve Bannon called for ICE to "surround the polls" earlier in the week.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters she could offer "no guarantee" that ICE personnel would not be stationed around voting sites when asked whether the president would rule out such deployments.

She said she had not "ever heard the president consider" placing ICE at polling locations and described the question as "a very silly hypothetical question" and "disingenuous," adding that she had not heard him discuss "any formal plans."

Reporter: Can you guarantee that ICE will not be around polling locations in November?Leavitt: I can’t guarantee that an ICE agent won’t be around a polling location in November. That’s a silly hypothetical question. That’s a disingenuous question. pic.twitter.com/eoVFevneBZ

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 5, 2026

The question came Bannon said on his War Room podcast earlier this week: "you're damn right we're going to have ICE surround the polls come November," adding that supporters would not "allow an election to be stolen." His remarks followed comments by the president urging Republicans to "take over" and "nationalize" voting in some jurisdictions.

In a podcast interview that aired Monday, the president said, "The Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting." He cited alleged fraud and referred to a recent federal search for election records in Fulton County, Georgia, tied to a Justice Department probe.

Multiple recounts in Georgia have confirmed Joe Biden's 2020 victory there.

• Rand Paul Rejects Trump's Call To 'Nationalize' Elections: 'Not What The Constitution Says'
• Steve Bannon Says 'ICE Will Surround The Polls' In Midterm Elections: 'Never Again Allow An Election To Be Stolen'
• Hakeem Jeffries Takes Aim At Trump Over Call To Nationalize Election: 'Get Lost'

The Constitution assigns primary responsibility for election administration to the states, though Congress may set certain regulations. The Supreme Court has interpreted that framework to give states broad control over voter registration and supervision of elections.

Leavitt and other White House officials said the president's "nationalize the voting" comments referred to support for federal voter ID standards through proposed legislation known as the SAVE Act. She said the measure would establish "commonsense" requirements such as proof of citizenship to register and uniform voter identification rules. Critics say such proposals could restrict ballot access for eligible voters.

Noncitizens are already prohibited from voting in federal elections, and studies have found such cases to be rare. Audits analyzed by NPR in several states before the 2024 presidential election identified only small numbers of potential cases among millions of voters.

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