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As we consider how they vote, in the actual mechanisms through which people can vote, what they would need to provide to be able to exercise that key element of democracy. That is something that is the subject of debate right now on Capitol Hill, as Republican lawmakers are pushing various pieces of legislation intended, as they say, to improve the
integrity of elections in America. One such effort is being spearheaded by Congressman Brian Style of Wisconsin, the chair of the House Administration Committee, who introduced the Mega Act, and talk to us about what it's intended to achieve earlier at this hour.
I think it's common sense that we should require, for example, photo identification when an individual goes to the polls, I have to do that. If you want a board an airplane, you want to open a bank accounter, heck, you want to buy a six pack of beer, you need to show photo identification. So it's common sense, it's popular. This is far from the takeover argument that some are attempting
to make. It's putting in baseline standards so that all Americans have confidence our elections are being run accurately and fairly.
That's the chair of the House Administration Committee. We now turn to its ranking member, Congressman Joe Morelli, the Democrat from New York is here with us now on Bloomberg TV and radio. So you just heard your colleagues argument there, Congressman, and we appreciate you joining us.
What is your response, Well, thanks for having me.
Well, it would be one thing if there was any degree of lack of confidence by Americans or there was evidence of fraud in America.
None of that is true.
Actually, elections come off very well. Local and state election officials do elections incredibly well. What this is really is the chaos and recklessness of the Trump administration. Who the president knows the American people are very, very frustrated and angry at what's happening with the Department of Homeland Security and ice on our city streets. They're very concerned about the lack of affordability and how badly this economy is going.
Seventy percent of Americans think the economy is worse direction than it was when Donald Trump became president.
This is really a misdirection.
It's a way, as the President has said, he says, the quiet part out loud, a way to seize American elections, to nationalize them, take that power away from the states, and give voter data to the Department of Homeland Security. I don't know if anybody in America who thinks it's a good idea to give Secretary Nome access to private
information that you supply when you register to vote. So I understand what my colleagues are saying, but this is really a misdirection play, and it's very, very frightening because Americans don't want their election and their midterms taken away from them.
Well, Democrats are not on board here, right, so I'm assuming this would have trouble passing the Senate when it comes to getting sixty votes. But how would you respond to what else? President Trump would say that Democrats want illegal aliens to vote because they vote Democratic.
Well, look, the President has said this for hears.
He even said that Minnesota, which is very much in the news these day, and they tried to blackmail Minnesota into giving them the voter file for the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. But the President famously said I won Minnesota three times. I never get credit for it.
The truth is the president denies election results.
He's done it around the twenty twenty elections, so far as having his head of National Intelligence go at the direction of the Department of Justice to seize ballots from the twenty twenty election five years ago. It's like, get over it, mister president. Illegal are people who are not registered to vote or are non American citizens don't vote in American elections against the law, and it's a felony
if you try to vote. So whenever you ask Republicans, could you provide evidence that non citizens are voting?
No, we just have a feel.
Can you provide evidence that there's widespread voter fraud. No, it's just a feeling we have. So you know, look, these are solutions in search of problems. American elections are secure. Trying to suggest they're not is only shaking the confidence, trying to shake the confidence of American voters. We're not going to tolerate it, and we're certainly not going to let Donald Trump try to national line elections and take them for his own. In twenty twenty six, in advance of the midterm elections.
Well, Congressman, you point at Minnesota as an example of where we're seeing this election debate obviously very heated, but Minnesota, of course, has captured our attention for other reasons, including, of course, the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE officers. That is why Democrats are now demanding reforms to ICE. Ten is what your leadership was seeking, ten changes that they would like to see in order to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security.
We understand the White House issued. Republicans issued a response. Your leader Hockeing Jeffries has described that counter as woefully inadequate. What is the minimum bar for user as to what reforms would be adequate where compromise could be found.
Yeah, I don't think it's just Democrats.
I think the American public has real concerns, and they've seen this unfold in videos in front of their eyes, and they can see what's happening in minnesot They also see that the Department of Homeland Security and the President continue to misrepresent what's in those videos, calling people domestic terrorists who are peacefully protesting as is their right under the Constitution. I think the very minimum ICE agents ought to act the same way that law enforcement does all around this country.
No masks.
You can see a police officer. They should have a badge, they should have body cameras. They should have to get if they're going to search your home, they need to get a judicial warrant that's embodied in the United States Constitution. These are fundamental rights which ICE is trying to take away in violation of the Constitution. We simply want to have the same kind of rules for ICE that you would have for any member of a local police force anywhere in the United States.
We've talked to a number of Republican lawmakers about this demasking issue and the identification issue. Congressman, and they are dug in on this. This is a deal breaker and a non starter, and they point to the dosing and identifying an harassment of these ICE agents and their families. How do we continue the conversation from there, because that's
where the breakdown happens. What do you tell your Republican colleagues when you're not on camera and you're talking about issues in the cloak room or at dinner.
Well, look at every police officer in America goes unmasked in.
Communities where they live. So if there was people are going.
To be targeted it would be your local law enforcement who lives in the.
Same community that they do.
Public safety in truth is this is just a way to intimidate people.
It's a way to hide your identity.
Frankly, I think it's dangerous for ICE officials and ICE agents as well as certainly and most importantly dangerous for residents.
Of our community.
So it's a basic fundamental thing that we've had since the birth of this republic two hundred and fifty years ago. These basic rules need to be followed. And we don't do it for FBI officials. We don't do it for local law enforcement officials, we don't do it for anyone in law enforcement. Why would we do it for ICE agents who are now swarming our streets all over this country.
Well, of course, as we consider the funding that backs those agents, Congressman, that was provided a great deal of it in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which already passed. It isn't necessary for DHS funding to be passed on Friday for that to continue. What it is necessary to continue FEMA TSA does rely on DHS not shutting down. That is an argument your Republican colleagues are making. Why is it worth it to shut down DHS if it isn't necessarily going to impact ICE directly.
Well, what I would say is, if that's the case, then I think you're right it is. ICE doesn't need the money, So why not fund the Coast Guard? Why not fund TSA, why not fund FEMA? We could do all of that and not fund ICE as we continue to negotiate, because, as you point out, ICE already has the money they need, so why would they use ICE, which doesn't need the funding to hold hostage the folks that do transit agents at TSS or TSA or the Coast Guard, for God's sake, the Coast Guard to defund
the Coastguard. So let's fund these other things. It's entirely appropriate while we continue to work towards trying to find common ground about the way ICE agents act out in when they're engaging in the American public, and be certain of this. Americans are very unhappy with ICE. It's very unpopular because they've.
Seen two American citizens.
These weren't so called non documented people. Two American citizens are dead within the last three weeks at the hands of federal agents. That's why Americans are so angry, and that's why they're with us on the question of how to reform ICE so that it represents the values of the American people.
Well, you're not just ranking member on the Admin Committee, Congressman, your vice ranking member on the Appropriations Committee. How would that happen? I hate to warn you, we only have a little more than a minute left. Can you actually take ICE funding from the rest of that bill and essentially siphon that off from the rest? Would you have to create a whole new funding bill just for that department or how.
Would it work? Yeah?
Maybe just put it in the Propriation bill that's from front of the House, strip out the ICE funding and zero it out because it has funding under the other bills.
So you can do this.
It would take no Amende to get that done by Fred Activity.
Yeah, sure, so.
Then we don't shut down. Does HOCKEYM Jeffrey support that, Well.
You'd have to ask him, but I'm pretty sure he'd be very happy if we did that.
Yes, I'm just listening to you talk to Kaylee. I think we might have just figured this out four days in advance.
That kind of a deadline in Washington, I don't know, Joe, So.
Thank you for being with US, Yeah, exactly right, Joe Morelli from New York twenty fourth district. That's up around Rochester where I bet it's off the cold today, and we appreciate the insights Congressman