Trump’s Midterm Election “Takeover” Playbook: How He Gut the Safeguards That Stopped Him in 2020

When Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, he launched a brazen effort to overturn the results. Thanks to a cadre of career officials and established institutions refusing to bow to his demands, the election outcome stood firm despite the violent Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021. But that was then. Now, as the midterms loom, the very safeguards that saved American democracy have been systematically dismantled under Trump’s second term, according to a detailed investigation by ProPublica.

At least 75 career officials who once ensured election integrity at federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have been pushed out, reassigned, or forced to resign. In their place, Trump installed around two dozen loyalists — many of whom actively worked to overturn the 2020 vote or are closely tied to election denialist groups. These appointees now hold key roles that shape the federal narrative on election security and integrity.

One of the most damaging moves was the gutting of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a DHS unit that had repeatedly debunked Trump’s false claims about hacked voting machines. Early in Trump’s second term, CISA’s election security staff were put on leave or fired, and its work protecting election infrastructure was frozen. DHS claimed this was to stop “electioneering,” but the effect was to silence one of the government’s most credible voices against election misinformation.

Federal law enforcement agencies suffered similar blows. The FBI’s public corruption unit, which monitored election-related crimes, was dismantled. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division voting section, charged with enforcing laws against racial discrimination at the polls, lost nearly all its career lawyers and was replaced by conservative attorneys with ties to Trump’s election challenges.

Behind the scenes, a group dubbed “Team America” by insiders took shape at DHS. This political appointee team sought ways to exert greater federal control over elections, following an executive order from March 2025. Key members include David Harvilicz, who oversees election infrastructure security and has connections to discredited election hacking theories, and Heather Honey, a source of false claims about ballot counts in Pennsylvania.

Experts warn that these changes could do serious damage to voter confidence. Derek Tisler from the Brennan Center for Justice points out the danger of false claims “coming with the seal of the federal government.” With federal officials now pushing debunked conspiracy theories, the risk is that misinformation will become official policy, undermining the very foundations of democracy.

The 2020 election was a stress test for American democracy — one it passed by a narrow margin. But the erosion of institutional safeguards and the rise of election deniers in key federal roles mean the next test could go very differently. ProPublica’s investigation is a stark warning: the fight to protect free and fair elections is far from over.