Donald J. Trump and his entourage are and have been fighting a cold war against the First Estate and the Congress it enshrines since the moment they were sworn in on January 20th, 2025. That fight is part of a far larger battle to establish broad, sweeping powers for Trump as President. Powers the founders and the constitution never envisioned or intended. Powers that appear to be intended to be limitless.

In the moments before an angry white mob of Trump supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol, Trump standing in front of the White House stoked the fury of the crowd exhorting them to, “Fight like hell!” They did. In a moment that was eerily reminiscent, Trump stood before a crowd of supporters in Dallas, Texas last month and urged them to “Cheat like hell!” That should be viewed as an encouragement, an authorization and a preview of things to come.

As a matter of federal and constitutional law the individual states of the United States are granted the authority to hold and administrate elections, including federal elections. As a result opportunities for federal election interference will not be plentiful. The tip of the Trump administration’s spear in in any effort to affect the elections in the states will be the Department of Justice. Controlled from the top down by Trump loyalists with little regard for the norms by which American elections have long been conducted the DoJ becomes the most likely source of interference at the state level.

The House races are probably going to be less of focus for the the White House and the DoJ than the Senate. The sheer volume of House races and the low probability that a small number of them will determine control of lower chamber make those districts likely unattractive targets for the Trump DoJ. The Senate races however are a different matter. Control of the Senate will hinge on the outcome of just a few races, perhaps even one. There targeted DoJ interference could have a far greater impact. What might the DoJ do?

On the afternoon of January 28, 2026 a contingent of FBI agents in possession of a search warrant signed by a magistrate judge and accompanied by then Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard descended on the Fulton County election center, the elections nerve center for the Metro Atlanta area. As the raid unfolded Gabbard reportedly coordinated a call between Donald Trump and the FBI agents conducting the raid. Trump according to reports wanted to thank the agents personally.

The DoJ at its highest levels appears now to have been converted, at least to some extent into an instrument of the President. Historically and especially since the resignation of then President Richard M. Nixon such influence in the affairs of the DoJ and the FBI by the White House has been forestalled by custom, but not by law. If the Trump administration chooses to intervene in the upcoming elections and subsequent ballot counting their most likely strategy will be to use the DoJ to do it. It bears repeating that in the Fulton county raid the DoJ did seek and was granted a warrant. Whether another court would accommodate such a request again is an open question.

Seizing ballots in key democratic leaning counties could quickly derail entire state’s elections. Not only does to deprive local election workers access to the ballots for the purpose of counting the votes but more importantly it, “breaks the chain of custody.” In base terms a break in the chain of custody of ballots means that the results can no longer be guaranteed by local election officials and likely forces litigation to resolve the inevitable disputes. That litigation could and arguably would be appealed all the way to the very conservative, Trump loyal Supreme Court.

Prime targets could include a return to Fulton County, Georgia (Atlanta) and potentially Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit). Two densely populated democratic strongholds that could be the determining factor in races in those states, but also conceivably determine control of the US Senate. Moreover any voting district where the DoJ can convince a court, a judge or a magistrate to issue a warrant, regardless of the veracity of the evidence is at risk. MAGA actors are reportedly already urging Trump to pursue such measures, under the auspices of national security.

Each state must have in place not only counter litigation plans but a strategy to maintain custody of their ballots pending a court order to release them to federal authorities. Not just a warrant, but a court order pursuant to a full evidentiary hearing. To the point, the states must be prepared to defend the sovereignty of their elections, with active measures if necessary. If the ballots are released in just a few key districts it could undermine the integrity of the entire election statewide and potentially nationwide.

What can you do? Vote. That’s the thing autocrats fear most. An active engaged citizenry. Use drop boxes for your ballots if possible. If you don’t have mail-in voting in your area do whatever you need to do to get to the polls with a, “they can’t stop me” mindset. Because if they can, they will.