Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel stated Wednesday they were unaware of a reported draft executive order to invoke emergency powers over U.S. elections during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
The reports stem from alleged accounts that pro-Trump activists, supposedly coordinating with the White House, circulated a draft executive order to expand presidential authority over elections. The proposal cites allegations of Chinese interference in the 2020 election as justification. Lawyer Peter Ticktin claimed he had “certain coordination” with White House officials, while the White House declined to comment.
Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., noted: “There are reports that in 2020, the president was preparing an executive order to potentially seize ballots or bring in federal forces.”
Warner then asked: “There is a published report that there is a similar EO being drafted right now about 2026, citing China. Director Patel, do you have any knowledge of that draft EO?”
Patel replied, “I do not, sir.”
When Warner posed the same question to Gabbard, she stated that election security and counterintelligence fall under her office and that she was unaware of the warrant’s contents. She added: “I did not participate in a law enforcement activity,” noting she was there only “to observe the FBI’s activities” at the president’s request.
The hearing became more contentious as Warner pressed Gabbard over her presence at a January FBI operation in Fulton County, Georgia, where agents seized 2020 election materials. Warner argued the move lacked any legitimate foreign intelligence basis and was tied to “conspiracy theories that have already been examined and rejected repeatedly.”
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., pressed further, noting Gabbard had acknowledged Trump “directly requested” her presence and questioned whether she had interacted with any ballots after being photographed inside an FBI evidence truck. Gabbard responded that “the truck was empty” and stated the image did not indicate she handled any election materials.
President Donald Trump denied in February that he was considering declaring a national emergency related to the midterm elections, saying: “Who told you that? No, I’ve never heard about it.”
