Rep. Jamie Raskin calls Trump electioneering efforts “an utter transgression against the Constitution”

**Who?** Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) — Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee **LISTEN: Laslo & Raskin** ***Ask a Pol* asks:** *What do you make of some of these efforts by President Trump and his White House to kind of federalize this year’s midterm elections?* **Key Raskin:** “This is an utter transgression against the Constitution,” Rep. Jamie Raskin tells *Ask a Pol.* ***Find Ask a Pol on*** *YouTube****,*** *TikTok* ***or*** *Instagram****!*** **Caught our ear:** “The president and the executive branch of government have nothing to do with the administration of federal elections,” Raskin tells us. \\Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), slightly edited for clarity. **TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Jamie Raskin (9-16-2026)** **SCENE:** *After voting on the floor of the US House of Representatives, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, speaks with members of the congressional press corps about efforts President Donald Trump and his administration have taken to allegedly influence this year's midterm elections.* *3-part election security series by Ask a Pol’s founder* \* The President: Are Dems ready if Trump declares a national election emergency? Not really. \* The Courts: Are Democrats putting too much trust in courts to safeguard the midterms? \* ‘Should be arrested’: ​Capitol Hill demand targets Musk as misinformation floods midterms **Matt Laslo:** “What do you make of some of these efforts by President Trump and his White House to kind of federalize this year’s midterm elections?” *You can find Ask a Pol on* Venmo*,* PayPal*,* Cash App*…* *…or just* buy the team a beer*!* **Jamie Raskin:** “The president and the executive branch of government have nothing to do with the administration of federal elections. That’s reposed in the state governments, and then Congress is the power in Article I to supplement the primary state authority over elections by regulating time, place and manner. Congress has not done that, so there’s no federal law that empowers the president to get involved in any way.” **JR:** “And I just saw the headlines that the whistleblower saying they’re already jumping way ahead to start to put the technology together, to have their barcodes on the ballot envelopes and the reverse ballot envelopes. I mean, this is an utter transgression against the Constitution. They don’t have the right to do it. And they’re setting us up for more chaos as they, you know, created chaos on Jan. 6, 2021.” ***Ask a Pol* AI Disclosure:** *Ask a Pol’*s playing around with as many new AI tools as we can, so this small, unfunded startup can compete in today’s new media landscape. (generative) AI isn’t tomorrow’s tech — it’s yesterday’s… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapolpolitics.com/subscribe