Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has mobilized key federal agencies to promote his unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Unlike the widespread resistance he encountered from government officials and courts following the 2020 election, Trump has filled his administration with allies who support his narrative, enabling a coordinated push to question the integrity of U.S. elections.

Applicants for positions in Trump’s second administration were reportedly vetted based on their acceptance of the claim that the 2020 election was rigged. This alignment has allowed agencies including the Justice Department, FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Postal Service to adopt policies and initiatives that echo the former president’s assertions of widespread fraud and election vulnerabilities.

On Thursday, Trump announced the immediate declassification of intelligence documents he claimed revealed “shocking vulnerabilities” in the election infrastructure. In a prime-time address, he also accused U.S. officials of covering up the extent of Chinese interference in American elections and directed the FBI, CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Justice Department to investigate these allegations. However, the heavily redacted documents released did not disclose any new evidence of election system weaknesses or manipulation of votes by foreign actors. The materials underscored ongoing debates within the government over the characterization of China’s influence efforts—a subject publicly discussed for several years.

The administration has continued to escalate its efforts. At a Friday news briefing, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin echoed Trump’s unfounded claims that tens of thousands of noncitizens remain on voter rolls and cautioned that local election officials could face criminal charges if they do not act on what he described as critical information needed to “secure” elections.

These developments have raised concerns among election experts and public officials across the political spectrum. John Cohen, a former senior intelligence and counterterrorism official, noted that the federal government’s current approach to election oversight is unprecedented in his four decades of service and warned of potential consequences ranging from increased public distrust to federal overreach into elections traditionally managed by the states.

Trump has suggested he supports a federal takeover of election administration, which the U.S. Constitution assigns to the states, though no such action has been formally attempted. Nevertheless, he has positioned loyalists, including election deniers, in influential roles within agencies that previously assisted states in maintaining their election security, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Postal Service. FEMA has threatened states with the loss of federal counterterrorism funds if they do not alter election procedures, while the Postal Service proposed rules allowing it to withhold delivery of mail ballots in states refusing to share voter rolls with the federal government—a measure currently stalled by a federal judge.

Several executive orders issued by Trump to alter election protocols, such as mandating proof of citizenship for voter registration and requiring all mail ballots to be returned by Election Day, have been barred by courts. Following these setbacks, Trump has pressured Congress to enact the SAVE Act, legislation designed to enshrine many of his disputed measures into law.

Within the Justice Department, now led by Todd Blanche, a former Trump personal attorney, officials have contemplated criminal investigations against state and local election workers over alleged failures to protect election systems. The department has also sought to compile a national voter database by requesting voter files from states, though more than 30 states have resisted, navigating ongoing legal battles.

State officials have responded with measures to safeguard elections independently of the federal government. For instance, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, has expanded cybersecurity operations, introduced a new paper ballot audit system, and implemented direct voter communications concerning mail ballots, all in anticipation of federal challenges.

Trump’s administration has also downsized or eliminated key election security efforts from his first term. He dismissed FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) personnel dedicated to protecting elections from foreign interference, curtailed the Foreign Malign Influence Center, and recently replaced the leadership of the Election Assistance Commission, which has aided states in evaluating voting machine security.

Former officials have noted the paradox of Trump undermining election security infrastructure that was established or strengthened during his initial presidency. According to Geoff Hale, a former senior official at CISA, election security protocols have improved substantially since the 2016 Russian interference revelations, yet federal cooperation with state elections officials is declining to levels seen before those reforms.

Hale and others highlight a key distinction from 2020: during the final weeks of Trump’s first term, senior Justice Department and agency officials resisted efforts to challenge election outcomes and seized voting machines, actions critical to upholding election integrity. With the current administration lacking similar internal opposition, analysts warn that the outcomes of future elections could be affected by this shift in federal posture.