Mob-Boss Mandates: Inside Trump’s $1B Threat to State Elections

The administration’s plot to leverage Homeland Security grants is part of a dangerous playbook for November.

Frank Figliuzzi hosts The Frank Figliuzzi Show on Lincoln Square. He is an FBI Assistant Director (retired); 25-year veteran Special Agent; and author of the national bestseller, The FBI Way, and Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers. Subscribe to his Substack.

Exclusive reporting by CNN on Monday exposed a threat by President Trump to pull millions of dollars in federal funds from states who refuse to comply with his demands to change how we conduct elections.

The mob-boss style threat is a variation on a worn-out Trump theme – bend to my will or pay the price. This time, Trump’s demand comes with a double danger. It not only undermines the security of upcoming midterm elections but erodes the safety of our communities by yanking over $1 billion in Homeland Security grants used by towns and counties to prepare for disasters, protect infrastructure, and counter terrorism. It seems like a sinister scheme of an increasingly desperate president to either rig the midterms or claim massive fraud if he fails.

Already, a federal court has balked at a portion of Trump’s plot – but now we know what he’s up to.

The CNN report is based on inside documents and multiple sources pointing to Trump’s plan to insert the federal government into running elections like never before. Trump will assert that his initiative is all about countering voter fraud – that the states can’t be trusted to safeguard the sanctity of the elections. Only Trump can fix it.

Never mind that there is no evidence of voter fraud sufficient to impact election outcomes. Trump’s move isn’t about facts or evidence, it’s about planting the seed of doubt, nurturing that seed, then harvesting the corrupted crop if his party takes a beating in November.