Dana Bash Puts Hakeem Jeffries On The Spot Over Democrats’ Voter ID Stance

CNN’s Dana Bash pressed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday’s “State of the Union” on his opposition to requiring voter ID for elections, noting that Democrats won in Virginia despite the state having such a requirement in place.

President Donald Trump on Monday urged Republicans to “nationalize the vote” in “crooked” states, arguing on a podcast that Democratic-led states had imported illegal immigrants to secure their votes. Since Trump’s insistence, Jeffries has described the position as an attempt to “steal” the 2026 midterm elections. Bash took issue with Jeffries’ opposition, asking why he would not support basic ID requirements, even if they did not include stricter documents such as a passport or birth certificate. (RELATED: ‘Bite You In The A*s’: Bill Maher and Stephen A. Smith Blame Chuck Schumer for Claiming Voter ID Bill Was Racist)

“Well, first of all, each state has the power to make the decision for itself, and we fully support that. What Donald Trump wants to do is try to nationalize the election – translation: steal it – and we’re not going to let that happen,” Jeffries responded. “We stopped them in their gerrymandering efforts, where they were going to try to redraw the Congressional map in red states across the country, without expecting Democrats to respond forcefully, and try to rig them in the midterms. They failed.”

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“We stopped Donald Trump from federalizing the National Guard, which we believe was likely part of a toxic attempt to unleash troops on American cities across the country and intimidate people into voting, and we will stop him from nationalizing the election,” Jeffries added. “This will be a free and fair election. It will be conducted like any other election, where states and localities will have the ability to administer the laws.”

Voter ID requirements have been raised repeatedly by the GOP; Democrats claim this would allow Republicans to suppress votes. Polls, however, have indicated that even Democrats favor requiring some form of identification when voting in person.

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in August 2025 found that 83% of respondents supported requiring all voters to present a government-issued photo ID to vote. Of those who agreed, 71% were Democrats and 95% were Republicans.

Additionally, Jeffries denounced Trump’s attempt to “nationalize” voting in the United States ahead of the midterm elections. In 2021, however, the House Minority Leader co-sponsored the For the People Act, which attempted to reintroduce a major increase in federal government involvement in state election procedures. Many opponents as well as those in favor of the bill at the time claimed that it would ultimately lead to the nationalization of American elections.

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