Sen. Elissa Slotkin asks Defense and Joint Chiefs chairman to confirm Pentagon will stay out of midterm voting

Sen. Elissa Slotkin sent letters to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pressing for a public, written commitment that the U.S. military will not be used in the midterm election process. In the letters, Slotkin asked each official to confirm what she described as a “simple statement” covering Department of Defense conduct around voting. Slotkin wrote that the Department of Defense will not send Federal troops to the polls or seize election materials “of any kind.”

Slotkin’s request, according to PBS NewsHour, framed the issue as one of ensuring the election is administered through civilian channels and established election procedures. The letters were dated and delivered Tuesday, ahead of November’s midterm voting period.

Slotkin is not asking the Pentagon to explain routine training or administrative support for election-related logistics, but instead to confirm boundaries she said must be maintained regarding armed presence at polling locations and any handling of election materials, including during periods when election security concerns are most likely to be raised.

Hegseth leads the Department of Defense and Caine serves as the senior uniformed adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Slotkin’s letters direct their attention to the chain of command for decisions that could affect whether military personnel are directed toward election sites or toward any election-material actions.

A response to the letters would clarify whether the Pentagon plans to provide the confirmation Slotkin requested, including how it would define “Federal troops,” the circumstances under which military personnel might otherwise be used for security or support roles, and what safeguards would apply to election-material handling.

If the Pentagon does not provide the specific confirmation Slotkin seeks, the dispute could become part of the broader debate over election administration, public trust in the vote, and the legal and institutional separation between military activity and civilian election operations.