Daily Intel Report | Listen Free 🎧 | Join the Effort 🫱🏻🫲🏾
With 112 days until the midterm elections, President Trump is preparing a primetime address this Thursday that he promises will contain “really big news” about election integrity — while his administration simultaneously wages a multi-front war on democratic institutions, from dismantling election oversight to threatening state officials with prosecution to expanding military conflict without congressional approval.
Trump’s Thursday Address: “Really Big News” or Another Assault on Democracy?
President Donald Trump will deliver a primetime address to the nation on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, promising to discuss “free and fair elections” and what the White House says are voting machine vulnerabilities.
The president has been guarded about specific details but has described the speech as containing “really big news.” “It doesn’t get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
But election experts and Democratic leaders are sounding alarms. Former Obama adviser David Axelrod warned Tuesday that Trump’s expected actions on voting mean “the most important battles of the midterm elections may take place not in the precincts, but in the courts.”
Axelrod told CNN that he fears the speech could be “the beginning of laying the foundation for claiming some sort of emergency and trying to arrogate to himself authorities that he doesn’t have.”
The White House has been working to declassify intelligence documents related to election security, with acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte leading the effort. However, senior administration officials told MSN that while countries like Russia, China and Iran sought to influence public opinion, “there has been no evidence of any bad actor manipulating votes or compromising voting machines.”
One administration official expressed skepticism about any new claims, telling MSN: “Everything I have seen, is not what’s there. I’ve never seen any intelligence that an adversary hacked or changed or flipped votes.”
EAC Gutted: No Oversight, No Accountability
Last week, President Trump fired the two Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission — Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — and accepted the resignation of its sole Republican commissioner, Christy McCormick. A fourth commissioner had left in April.
The EAC, created by Congress in 2002 after the chaos of the 2000 presidential election, was designed to help with election funding, voting equipment certification and security guidance. It now has no sitting commissioners.
The Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) issued a statement expressing “concern” over the removal, warning that “significant changes to the leadership or governance of electoral institutions only months before nationwide elections risk creating uncertainty and may affect public confidence in the impartiality of the electoral process.”
The EAC is not the only agency being hollowed out. The American Democracy Minute reported that “it’s not the only federal agency with election oversight to be hamstrung by the Trump administration.”
DOJ Threatens State Election Officials
Earlier this week, Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, sent letters to election officials in all 50 states warning they could face criminal charges for allowing noncitizens to remain on voter rolls.
Election officials have pushed back. Maryland’s elections administrator Jared DeMarinis said: “There are protocols in place to ensure when people get on the rolls and how they’re taken off the rolls. And we follow those to the letter of the law.”
Utah’s Republican lieutenant governor, who runs elections in that state, wrote: “Got another love letter this morning from the DOJ sprinkled throughout with threats of criminal prosecution. I’m sure I’m not the only chief election officer of a state who is being targeted for following state and federal laws by resisting DOJ’s demands for private voter data that have thus far been ruled illegal by at least a dozen courts. This is truly bizarre behavior.”
Trump’s Attorney General Pick Faces Fiery Confirmation Hearing
On Wednesday, Todd Blanche — Trump’s former personal defense lawyer and current acting attorney general — faced a contentious Senate confirmation hearing.
Blanche, who sat next to Trump throughout the Manhattan criminal trial where Trump was convicted of falsifying business records, has been closely tied to what Democrats have dubbed a “retribution” campaign against the president’s perceived political enemies.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged lawmakers to reject Blanche’s nomination, saying: “Blanche has devoted his career to serving Donald Trump and particularly his corrupt purposes. Blanche has gone after Trump’s enemies, covered up Trump’s crimes, and shielded Trump from the consequences.”
A sole Republican “no” vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee could be enough to torpedo Blanche’s appointment. At least two Republicans — retiring Senator Thom Tillis and Senator John Cornyn, who was defeated in a primary — have expressed concerns.
More than 1,200 former Department of Justice employees have signed a letter opposing Blanche’s nomination, citing his role in firing hundreds of career officials and instilling a “culture of fear” in the workforce.
Trump’s Intelligence Nominee Also Faces Scrutiny
Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to be the next director of national intelligence, appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
Clayton, currently the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has drawn scrutiny for issuing subpoenas to New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns over Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One.
Senators are also likely to press Clayton on his involvement in the White House’s effort to declassify intelligence related to election security ahead of Trump’s Thursday address.
Iran War Escalates as Senate Blocks Defense Bill
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats blocked a $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill, citing frustration with the Iran war and Trump’s failure to consult Congress about his decision to send U.S. forces into the conflict.
The bill did not secure the 60 votes needed to advance.
The move came as Axios reported that Trump discussed a potential expansion of military operations against Iran with key administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
The meeting discussed “a massive offensive in Iran that will be wider in scope than the current strikes around the Strait of Hormuz.” Trump had earlier told Fox News the U.S. was ready to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants unless Tehran agreed to engage in talks.
Democratic Leaders Sound the Alarm
The Hill Nation Summit convened in Washington on Wednesday, bringing together a bipartisan gathering of lawmakers and administration officials to discuss the upcoming midterm elections.
With less than four months until Election Day, voters are expressing deep concern about affordability, with gas prices at least 30% higher, according to one report.
Former Obama adviser David Axelrod issued a stark warning: “I hope I’m wrong, but I think that is the explanation. I do think the president does like revisiting 2020. That’s part of his repertoire.”
The Bottom Line
President Trump is preparing a primetime address this Thursday that he promises will contain explosive news about election integrity — but courts, audits and his own Justice Department have repeatedly found no evidence of widespread fraud. Meanwhile, his administration is systematically dismantling the institutions that protect our elections, threatening state officials with prosecution, and expanding military conflict without congressional approval.
This is a coordinated assault on the foundations of our democracy. The people must pay attention. The people must speak out. And the people must vote.
What You Can Do Right Now
Check Your Voter Registration. Visit your state’s election website or Vote.org to confirm your registration and update your address. Make sure you’re ready to vote in November.
Contact Your State Election Officials. Let them know you support free, fair, and accessible elections and oppose federal overreach.
Speak Out. Contact your members of Congress. Tell them you oppose the dismantling of the Election Assistance Commission and demand they protect the integrity of the 2026 midterms.
Talk to Your Neighbors. Many people don’t know about these attacks on our democratic infrastructure. Spread the word.
Support the Fight For the People PAC. Support Democrats at every level who will defend the right to vote and protect our democratic institutions. Sign up to volunteer and chip in whatever you can at fightforthepeoplepac.com and democrats.org. Join the effort for a better America. Be the voice.
Sources
- NPR: “Trump will speak on elections in Thursday primetime address” (July 15, 2026)
- The Daily Beast: “Dem Star Warns of ‘Most Important Battles’ as Trump Plots Midterms Chaos” (July 15, 2026)
- TASS: “Trump, US administration officials discuss expanding Iran strikes” (July 15, 2026)
- BSS/AFP: “Trump attorney general pick faces fiery Senate confirmation hearing” (July 15, 2026)
- The New York Times: “Trump Live Updates: Jay Clayton Confirmation Hearing” (July 15, 2026)
- News4SanAntonio: “Trump removes remaining Election Assistance Commission members” (July 15, 2026)
- Common Dreams: “Trump Is Waging a Psychological Warfare Campaign Against US Democracy” (July 15, 2026)
- International IDEA: “Statement on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission” (July 14, 2026)
- Daily Mail: “Trump teases ‘really big news’ in address to the nation” (July 15, 2026)
- Daily Mail: “Trump teases ‘really big news’ on voter fraud” (July 15, 2026)
Written and composed with AI.
The People's Weekly 
Leave a comment