Trump pushes to nationalize elections, alleges some states Biden won in 2020 are vulnerable to fraud

President Trump on Tuesday prodded Congress to “nationalize” elections in states or local jurisdictions.

He made his case to congressional Republicans in the Oval Office, one day after telling podcaster Dan Bongino that the GOP should take over elections in 15 states.

“If a state can’t run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday. “If you think about it, the state is an agent for the federal government in elections. I don’t know why the federal government doesn’t do them anyway.”

Mr. Trump alleged Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta as places vulnerable to fraud, but did not offer evidence to corroborate that claim. The president lost Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia to Democrat Joseph R. Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

“The federal government should not allow that. The federal government should get involved,” Mr. Trump said.

The idea would put Mr. Trump on a collision course with the Constitution, which tasks states with setting the “times, places and manner” of elections.

Some Republicans pushed back at the idea of a national takeover.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, accused Mr. Trump of acting like a dictator.

“Now, we know why Donald Trump is doing this: he is losing support of the American people, and he knows it,” Mr. Schumer said. “So, he doesn’t want them to vote. He doesn’t want them to have power.”

Mr. Trump wants alternative measures, such as the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote.

His push to nationalize elections follows an FBI raid of Fulton County, Georgia, to seize ballots from the 2020 election.