Schiff Sounds Alarm: Trump Plots Election Overhaul Amid 2026 Battle Lines

Paul Riverbank, 2/9/2026As election rules and DHS funding spark fierce debate, leaders warn that the fight isn't just over policy—it's about the core trust Americans hold in their democracy. With both sides urging record turnout, the coming years will test the nation’s faith in its own political system.

Much of this worry traces straight back to Trump’s swelling commentary. He’s started talking about taking voting rules national—no more patchwork, he says—urging Republicans to, as he put it, “take control of the voting.” Even off the air, that sort of talk gets inside people’s heads, including those who normally tune out the campaign cacophony. The result: a capital city jittering with another round of the most basic American argument—do we put our trust in the process, or in thicker guardrails?

Add an FBI search at a Fulton County, Georgia, election office—hard not to think of Atlanta the night of the last count, nerves fried and rumors everywhere. For people watching from the Democratic side, this is all more pressure, the old bruises not just unhealed but prodded again. Schiff’s tone won’t let you write any of it off. “He tried before. Insurrection, the whole ugly aftermath—are we really surprised at what’s next?”

The echoes of that period are impossible to ignore, but the sense of foreboding is not just coming from Schiff. Flick the remote a channel over, and you’ll find Maryland Governor Wes Moore giving his own diagnosis. Moore points a finger at redistricting—a messy, in-the-weeds subject that suddenly feels front and center. In his telling, a single call from Trump to Texas set off a wave: sharpies changing maps behind closed doors, adding seats, dropping them, never mind who lives where. “Maryland’s seen the fallout,” Moore says, “jobs, funds, gone missing,” as tangled districts breed gridlock and lawsuits.

For all the boiling rhetoric, both Schiff and Moore end up, perhaps inevitably, turning to turnout. “Get everyone to vote. That’s the only safety net we’ve got,” Schiff insists, a line you’ve heard before but which, this year, somehow carries more weight. Moore, for his part, doesn’t sugarcoat it: “This is on each one of us, not the person across the street.”

Sitting at the heart of these arguments is the much-discussed SAVE America Act—a bill that would require newly registered voters to prove their citizenship with a birth certificate, a passport, or similar documents. Supporters see it as a simple update, common sense, nothing more. Detractors, Schiff prominent among them, warn that plenty of fully eligible citizens might not have the right paperwork at hand. “That’s how you disenfranchise people,” he argues, frustration obvious.

It’s a rare policy fight that’s gotten complicated fast, partly because Americans generally approve of photo ID at polls. Pew numbers out last month say 83% support it—and even among Democrats, it’s north of seven in ten. But as always, the headlines don't dig into the edge cases, the people who might slip through the cracks.

Underlying all this is the broader question: do we entrust the law with protecting everyone’s voting rights, even if some corners of the process get messier, or do we sharpen the rules at the risk of squeezing out some who belong? Policy, in this case, feels as personal as principle.

Meanwhile, another drama unfolds across the Potomac. Congress is staring down a deadline for funding the Department of Homeland Security—a fight which starts with ICE and winds its way through everything from FEMA to the Coast Guard. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, speaking to CNN, spells out the Democrats’ terms like he’s reading from a checklist: agents in body cameras, stricter warrants, no more masks in neighborhoods. That list has Republicans scoffing—Alabama’s Katie Britt nearly laughs it off as a “ridiculous Christmas list for the press.” On the other side, Senator Fetterman’s not even pretending optimism: "If you want my bet, there’s going to be a shutdown," he tells Fox, the Friday deadline glaring on the calendar.

By week’s end, the stakes look stark. If the money stops, border security will slow, airports might scramble, rescue responders could wait in limbo. Some ICE funds have special protection, but most of what keeps people moving, traveling, or safe stands to take a hit.

In the thicket of these fights—rules for voting, squabbles over immigration enforcement—political leaders in both parties keep turning the story back to the people who vote. Whether you see the moment as a test of the system’s strength or a question of how much Americans trust the rules, this much is clear: the year ahead won’t allow any of us to tune out. Political fatigue is one thing. Democracy, as all sides are quick to remind us, doesn’t put its feet up—especially when so much hangs in the balance.

It’s early Sunday, and Adam Schiff sits down under the blue lights of “This Week.” Before the coffee’s cooled, he’s already made his exasperation plain. The veteran California senator isn’t hedging. “Donald Trump’s gearing up for more than a comeback—he’s eyeing the next midterms like it’s unfinished business. He’ll act if Republicans fall short,” Schiff tells the host, voice tight with warning. It doesn’t come out as the usual party-line grumbling. There’s real urgency, as if the alarms left over from 2020 are ringing anew.Much of this worry traces straight back to Trump’s swelling commentary. He’s started talking about taking voting rules national—no more patchwork, he says—urging Republicans to, as he put it, “take control of the voting.” Even off the air, that sort of talk gets inside people’s heads, including those who normally tune out the campaign cacophony. The result: a capital city jittering with another round of the most basic American argument—do we put our trust in the process, or in thicker guardrails?Add an FBI search at a Fulton County, Georgia, election office—hard not to think of Atlanta the night of the last count, nerves fried and rumors everywhere. For people watching from the Democratic side, this is all more pressure, the old bruises not just unhealed but prodded again. Schiff’s tone won’t let you write any of it off. “He tried before. Insurrection, the whole ugly aftermath—are we really surprised at what’s next?”The echoes of that period are impossible to ignore, but the sense of foreboding is not just coming from Schiff. Flick the remote a channel over, and you’ll find Maryland Governor Wes Moore giving his own diagnosis. Moore points a finger at redistricting—a messy, in-the-weeds subject that suddenly feels front and center. In his telling, a single call from Trump to Texas set off a wave: sharpies changing maps behind closed doors, adding seats, dropping them, never mind who lives where. “Maryland’s seen the fallout,” Moore says, “jobs, funds, gone missing,” as tangled districts breed gridlock and lawsuits.For all the boiling rhetoric, both Schiff and Moore end up, perhaps inevitably, turning to turnout. “Get everyone to vote. That’s the only safety net we’ve got,” Schiff insists, a line you’ve heard before but which, this year, somehow carries more weight. Moore, for his part, doesn’t sugarcoat it: “This is on each one of us, not the person across the street.”Sitting at the heart of these arguments is the much-discussed SAVE America Act—a bill that would require newly registered voters to prove their citizenship with a birth certificate, a passport, or similar documents. Supporters see it as a simple update, common sense, nothing more. Detractors, Schiff prominent among them, warn that plenty of fully eligible citizens might not have the right paperwork at hand. “That’s how you disenfranchise people,” he argues, frustration obvious.It’s a rare policy fight that’s gotten complicated fast, partly because Americans generally approve of photo ID at polls. Pew numbers out last month say 83% support it—and even among Democrats, it’s north of seven in ten. But as always, the headlines don't dig into the edge cases, the people who might slip through the cracks.Underlying all this is the broader question: do we entrust the law with protecting everyone’s voting rights, even if some corners of the process get messier, or do we sharpen the rules at the risk of squeezing out some who belong? Policy, in this case, feels as personal as principle.Meanwhile, another drama unfolds across the Potomac. Congress is staring down a deadline for funding the Department of Homeland Security—a fight which starts with ICE and winds its way through everything from FEMA to the Coast Guard. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, speaking to CNN, spells out the Democrats’ terms like he’s reading from a checklist: agents in body cameras, stricter warrants, no more masks in neighborhoods. That list has Republicans scoffing—Alabama’s Katie Britt nearly laughs it off as a “ridiculous Christmas list for the press.” On the other side, Senator Fetterman’s not even pretending optimism: "If you want my bet, there’s going to be a shutdown," he tells Fox, the Friday deadline glaring on the calendar.By week’s end, the stakes look stark. If the money stops, border security will slow, airports might scramble, rescue responders could wait in limbo. Some ICE funds have special protection, but most of what keeps people moving, traveling, or safe stands to take a hit.In the thicket of these fights—rules for voting, squabbles over immigration enforcement—political leaders in both parties keep turning the story back to the people who vote. Whether you see the moment as a test of the system’s strength or a question of how much Americans trust the rules, this much is clear: the year ahead won’t allow any of us to tune out. Political fatigue is one thing. Democracy, as all sides are quick to remind us, doesn’t put its feet up—especially when so much hangs in the balance.