The event in Arizona was itself unnecessary. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, already one of the most controversial and unpopular figures in the White House Cabinet, spent Friday in the Grand Canyon State, ostensibly to draw attention to concerns about the integrity of the state’s electoral system.
As is too often the case, Noem didn’t appear to have any idea what she was talking about. At a local press conference, for example, the South Dakota Republican insisted that Arizona “is an absolute disaster” when it comes to elections, but when asked by a reporter whether she was aware of any examples of voter fraud actually happening in the state, the secretary pointed to literally nothing.
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.
“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.
And more to the point, the idea that DHS is taking steps to ensure that “the right leaders” get elected is ridiculous.
Two days after Noem made the public comments, White House border czar Tom Homan appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and host Jake Tapper asked what the secretary was talking about. “I don’t know,” Homan replied. “That would be a question for the secretary. … That would be something she’d have to answer.”
Ouch.
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.
