Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned Monday that President Donald Trump knows he is losing ahead of the November midterm elections and that Americans must be prepared for him to try anything to hold on to power. In a post on X, Schumer said he has spent months leading Democratic senators, legal experts and election officials through preparations for scenarios ranging from federal agents at polling places to seized ballots.
The Full Post
Schumer published the statement at 10:25 a.m. on October 5, 2026. In its entirety, it reads:
“Donald Trump knows he’s losing. We must be prepared for him to try anything and everything to cling to power.
For months, I’ve been leading Democratic senators, legal experts, and election officials in preparing for all scenarios: ICE/National Guard deployments to polling sites, AI deepfakes claiming election fraud, ballot seizures by federal officials, and so much more.
This election belongs to the American people, not Donald Trump. Because of our efforts, we’re more prepared than ever to handle whatever he throws our way and ensure every eligible American citizen has their voice heard.”
What Schumer Linked
The post included a link to a CNN report detailing the closed-door sessions Schumer has convened. They have included Democratic senators, legal experts and former officials discussing highly specific hypotheticals. These include the deployment of Department of Homeland Security agents and the National Guard to the polls, federal officials seizing ballots after the administration announces that a foreign adversary compromised voting systems, and AI-generated videos alleging fraud that prompt demands for intervention and a purge of eligible voters from the rolls. Participants have acted as stand-ins for key figures such as the Homeland Security Secretary, the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General.
In a statement to the outlet, Schumer said the sessions helped Democrats “imagine the many twists and turns Trump and his cronies could throw at us” and identify where gaps in preparation might exist. He added that he feels more confident, and that the American people should too, that the party is better prepared because of the work.
A Months-Long Effort
The effort began in April, when Schumer launched the Senate Democrats’ Election Protection Task Force. In floor remarks announcing it, he described the group as “the most aggressive and coordinated effort to date” to ensure that every vote counts. The task force brings together 11 senators and outside experts including former Attorney General Eric Holder, attorney Marc Elias, former Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, Norm Eisen and Skye Perryman.
Schumer’s current warning echoes language he used then. In those same floor remarks, he said Trump is escalating attacks on elections because the president knows his agenda is unpopular and “he knows he’s going to lose the elections.” Schumer said Senate Democrats were not waiting until after the damage was done.
Schumer made the case more fully at the Center for American Progress Ideas conference, where he called Trump’s plan to rig the 2026 election “unprecedented” and said it required an unprecedented response. He described the task force as a real operation before, during and after Election Day, and said Senate Democrats would “fight like hell to make sure our elections belong to the voters,” not Trump.
Stress-Testing the Threats
The task force later met with election experts to stress-test responses to several threats to the midterms. In a release headlined “Democracy Is On The Line,” Schumer said the group had gamed out how to thwart threats “before Republicans can undermine our free and fair elections.” The release also referenced Republican pressure on election officials in Arizona to turn over documents.
Schumer has also pointed to Trump’s own words. In floor remarks, he cited the president’s pledge to deploy “an Election Integrity Army in every single State.” He said the task force was “keeping Trump up at night” because Trump knows the party’s position as the midterms approach.
The Legal Front
Federal law already prohibits sending federal “troops or armed men” to polling places, except to repel “armed enemies of the United States.” Trump and his allies have nonetheless declined to rule out the idea. Asked earlier this year whether he would send ICE officers or National Guard troops to the polls, Trump said he would do “anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections.” Top Democratic leaders have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the deployment of ICE or other federal law enforcement at or near polling locations and ballot-counting sites.
Lawyers have also prepared advance court pleadings, including requests that judges protect the chain of custody for voted ballots if federal agents try to seize them. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Democrats must “be ready to go to court immediately,” adding that “there is no time to write briefs.” Aria Branch, a partner at Elias Law Group, said the firm’s lawyers have “go-bags prepared” and are ready to deploy to a state at a moment’s notice.
The White House Response
The White House has rejected the framing. Spokeswoman Lauren Bis said that every American should be asking why Democrats refuse to pass the SAVE America Act, which includes voter ID requirements she described as strongly supported by most Americans. She said the legislation would make sure “Americans, and Americans only, decide our elections.” Asked in February whether Trump was considering sending ICE agents to the polls, then-press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was not something she had ever heard the president consider.
A Broader Democratic Mobilization
The Senate effort is one piece of a larger operation. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), who oversees House election preparations, has outlined more than 150 possible threats. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met with him this spring and told him to build “the greatest election protection and election security program in American history.” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) launched the first bipartisan Senate election observer program, and the ACLU has committed $25 million to election safeguarding and trained some 10,000 volunteers.
What Is at Stake
Democrats point to early courtroom results as grounds for confidence. They say the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s plan to change how mail-in ballots are sent and upheld state laws counting late-arriving mail ballots. The federal government has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., for election records, and 26 of those suits have been dismissed, per the Brennan Center for Justice. Courts also threw out at least 60 attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 results.
The warning comes with the party broadly optimistic about the midterms. Polymarket currently puts the odds of Democrats winning the House at 93%. The planning is expected to continue through certification, until a new Congress is seated on January 3, 2027. Schumer’s post suggests his message to the public is that the party sees a real risk of interference and says it is ready for it.