Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday that President Donald Trump intends to take action to overturn the result of the 2026 midterm elections should Republicans lose seats in Congress.
“I think [Trump] intends to try to subvert the elections,” Schiff told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “And if he loses the vote … he’s prepared to try to take some kind of action to overturn the result, and we really shouldn’t question that.”
Schiff’s remarks come after Trump continued to escalate his rhetoric surrounding the results of the 2020 election, which the president has falsely claimed was stolen ever since his loss. The FBI raided a Fulton County, Georgia, election office and seized ballots from the 2020 election on Jan. 28. Trump lost Georgia by less than 12,000 votes in 2020, and even if he had won the state, it would not have been enough to win in the Electoral College.
In the days since the FBI’s raid, Trump has called for nationalizing elections and repeatedly claimed without evidence that Democrats cheat to win elections.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., appears on ABC News’ “This Week” on Feb. 8, 2026.
ABC News
Schiff pointed to Trump’s actions after the 2020 election as evidence for the possibility that he would challenge the 2026 results.
“We cannot ignore what they’re telling us they’re going to do, because time and time again, we have seen that they’re willing to go to extraordinary and lawless lengths,” Schiff said.
As for who could check any attempt to question the results of the midterms, Schiff said that he does not trust Republicans in Congress, but does trust the American people.
“The best protection we have is to mobilize the largest voter turnout in U.S. history to so overwhelm the vote … so that there’s no way they can cheat,” Schiff said.
The California senator said that Trump’s actions are due to what he said is the general unpopularity of his administration’s policies. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week pinned Trump’s approval at 37%, with 56% disapproving.
“He hasn’t brought prices down. There’s chaos and killing in American streets by ICE agents. The public has turned against him,” Schiff said. “His ego cannot stand another loss.”
As Trump continues his claims of voter fraud, Republicans in Congress hope to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. If it becomes law, it could overhaul voter registration by requiring registrants to appear in-person to verify their citizenship with a passport or birth certificate, but not a driver’s license. Democrats have raised concerns about disenfranchising voters who don’t have those documents.
Asked by Karl if there could be a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, such as a law requiring a photo ID to vote, Schiff said he would oppose such a policy.
“It’s still going to be something that disenfranchises people … that don’t have the ID necessary to vote, even though they are citizens,” Schiff said. “This is another way to simply try to suppress the vote.”
A Pew Research Center poll from August 2025 found that 83% of U.S. adults support requiring a photo ID to vote — including 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
