Himes, Warner seek Election Day contact from intelligence leaders

Pre-election meddling assessments not delivered, Democrats say

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees, briefed reporters Wednesday about preparations for a possible foreign-interference claim connected to this year’s midterms. The lawmakers said they are operating under the broader presumption that President Trump and his allies will allege fraud related to the midterms to justify election interference; Warner said claiming foreign interference in the voting process is one way Trump could do that. Himes and Warner are members of the Gang of Eight, senior lawmakers who oversee the nation’s spy agencies and receive confidential briefings.

In the briefing, Himes and Warner said they had made clear to Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and other intelligence leaders that they must be immediately reachable by phone on and after Election Day if Trump alleges foreign interference in the election. Himes said Trump could decide to use allegations of foreign interference as an excuse to seize ballot boxes or question the validity of the election. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“If, at noon on election day, the president announced that the Iranians have undertaken operation,” Himes said, “I’m on TV saying ‘I’m Gang of Eight and I have received no such briefing, no such information, and I have no reason to believe that this is accurate.’” Himes added: “Now, does that end the crisis? No, but that’s the first step.”

“We start with the premise that the president is going to do that. It would be irresponsible not to, speaking as somebody who was in the chamber on January 6, 2021,” Himes said. “We’re making the assumption that the president is not going to accept the results of what looks to be a very challenging election for him and his party.”

Both lawmakers said they are in close contact with top Trump intelligence officials, even as they allege that those officials failed to provide legally mandated pre-election reports to Congress assessing the state of play regarding foreign election meddling efforts.

“When Jay Clayton assumed his role as DNI, we asked and received the required classified summary of influence and interference,” Himes said. “We have not received a bunch of things that we have asked for,” including, he said the statutorily required reports about the state of play 120 days, 60 days and 30 days before the election. The ODNI office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The lawmakers said they had received one classified report on Tuesday from the DNI’s office. They described the report as a “grabbag” of intelligence on meddling efforts, including the sort of Russian and Chinese campaigns that have come to be expected in American elections.

“The state of play, I would argue, is Russia, similar to prior occasions, is going after Democrats, usually with misinformation,” Warner said. “Iran is probably more looking at disruption in Europe. They’ve been more anti-Trump. China’s been more selective, oftentimes on local races or smaller issues, oftentimes with Chinese nationals involved.”

Still, Himes said that there is a “profound distinction” between those influence campaigns and actual interference in election infrastructure itself, “which is messing around with the voting rolls, with the machines … which is very, very difficult.” Himes specifically emphasized that “we have never seen an operation to actually interfere and, as of now, we are not seeing either the capability or the intent to interfere.”

The lawmakers described their preparations for a possible fraudulent claim of foreign interference as one part of a much larger election-integrity effort by Democrats and good-governance groups. “There is a plan there,” Warner said, noting that a constellation of more than 75 groups are still meeting on a regular basis, “fully lawyered up.” Warner said responsibility to protect democracy extends beyond good-governance groups and lawmakers themselves to the press and the public at large.

“I think any potential mishap, from seating of members of Congress to the count after the fact, I know both of us have spent time with former military members, intel members, business leaders, civil society to make the case that if something happens, you have to speak up,” Warner said.

Asked whether Republican lawmakers would speak out, Warner replied that hope springs eternal. “I think everybody realizes what’s at stake here. I mean, the irony of celebrating our 250th anniversary and this the first year we had a completely corrupt election? I think people know what’s at stake.”

The current preparations follow MSI’s December 2025 reporting on broader Democratic and election-law warnings that President Trump could interfere with the 2026 midterms, including concerns that he would keep federal troops in Democratic areas through Election Day and that the Justice Department had demanded detailed voter data from states.