MaddowBlog-Kristi Noem generates another mess, says DHS is ensuring 'the right leaders' get elected

[LetMyPeopleVote]

“This is Trump’s idea of democracy: Leaders get to select their voters instead of the other way around,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said.

The idea that the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to ensure that “the right leaders” get elected is ridiculous.

But that’s precisely what Kristi Noem said is happening during a press conference Friday in Arizona.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-16T13:03:02.416Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kristi-noem-generates-another-mess-says-dhs-is-ensuring-the-right-leaders-get-elected

Kris Mayes, Arizona’s Democratic state attorney general, soon after issued a written statement that accused Noem of “lying to the American people,” adding, “Arizona’s elections are safe and secure. The election deniers now staffing the Trump administration have spent the past six years lying to the American people in a deliberate effort to destroy trust in our election system. Multiple investigations, independent audits, and courts across this country have all reached the same conclusion: Voter fraud is exceedingly rare and has not played a meaningful role in the outcome of an election.”

But as part of the same press conference, where Noem pushed for a federal overhaul of state election laws, the DHS secretary went further than her party’s usual talking points.

Kristi Noem: "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-02-14T14:51:25.730Z

“I would say that many people believe that it may be one of the most important things that we need to make sure we trust, is reliable, and that when it gets to Election Day, that we’ve been proactive to make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country through the days that we have, knowing that people can trust it,” Noem said.

In case this isn’t obvious, the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for helping protect U.S. election infrastructure from threats, but it has nothing to do with preventing election fraud......

Key congressional Democrats, meanwhile, were even less guarded. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for example, responded to Noem’s comments via social media, arguing, “This is Trump’s idea of democracy: leaders get to select their voters instead of the other way around.” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wasn’t pleased either.

It’s likely that the Department of Homeland Security will pitch the most benign explanation possible for the unscripted comments. But given the broader context, and the Republican administration’s unsubtle campaign targeting elections, it’s tough to give Noem the benefit of the doubt.

Indeed, the incident seemed like the latest in a series of instances in which leading GOP officials said the quiet part loud: The secretary wants to use the levers of federal power to ensure those she sees as “the right leaders” prevail in future elections, which is a power she isn’t supposed to have.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. trump wants to engineer outcomes of elections by choosing voters who will ensure his preferred outcomes

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Noem dismisses criticism of 'right people' voting for 'right leaders' remark

Noem and trump are not even trying to hide the fact that they want to fix elections

Link to tweet

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5740058-kristi-noem-comments-election-security/

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem waved off criticism of recent comments she made about ensuring “we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country,” calling the remarks “commonsense.”

In response to a clip from CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday in which Jake Tapper asks border czar Tom Homan about her comments, Noem said on the social platform X that it “must be exhausting to regularly manufacture outrage even over the most commonsense statements.”.....

On Friday, Noem suggested that her department plays an expansive role in election security. The secretary alleged she has the authority to find “vulnerabilities” in the election system and put in place “mitigation measures” to ensure local and state elections are carried out “correctly.”

In a press conference in Arizona, Noem claimed elections were under the DHS’s mission of “maintaining critical infrastructure.”