House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) has requested a classified briefing from the Trump administration on the scope of Chinese election hacking and non-citizen voter registration, according to a Just the News report.
The letters were sent to top national security officials and sought a briefing in September, the report stated. John Solomon, a contributor to Just the News, first reported the request.
The request follows public allegations of foreign interference in U.S. elections. President Donald Trump said in a July 16 primetime address that his administration uncovered "profound vulnerabilities" in the election system and that China had exploited those vulnerabilities to seize American voter data [1].
Trump also alleged that China hacked more than 220 million U.S. voter files [2]. A BBC report noted that Trump has "repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud and foreign meddling in the 2020 election" [3].
Steil's letters asked that the briefing address "the scope of the Chinese hacks and non-citizens registered to vote," according to the Just the News report. The outlet said the letters were sent to top national security officials but did not identify them by name. A committee spokesperson said the letters were part of ongoing oversight work and declined to provide additional details, the report stated.
The request comes as federal authorities have focused on non-citizen voting. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it identified more than 250,000 noncitizens who were on voter registration rolls in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Nevada [4].
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said states that do not purge voter rolls of potentially ineligible voters could lose funding [4]. The Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and DHS have been described as systematically exposing electoral fraud, including noncitizen voting and ballot-box-stuffing schemes [5]. Federal prosecutors also charged two Ukrainian women with illegally voting in the 2024 election despite being non-citizens [6].
Allegations of Chinese interference in U.S. elections date to the 2020 cycle. NaturalNews reported that then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe detailed how China influenced the 2020 election [7]. In August 2020, the Department of State announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the identity or location of any person who, acting at the direction of a foreign government, interferes with U.S. elections through criminal cyber activities [8].
Newly declassified documents illustrate attempts by foreign actors to influence U.S. elections and by some American intelligence agencies to downplay election-related connections [9]. In a 2020 message, FBI agent Nikki Floris wrote, "I'm basically running a shadow government across the FBI at this point," amid disagreements over how to frame intelligence reports related to the Chinese Communist Party [9]. A new intelligence watchdog has opened a review of whistleblower complaints, with China election meddling cases near the top of the list [10].
Federal officials have previously issued reports and statements on foreign election interference. A January 2020 National Intelligence Council memo flagged risks to voter registration databases, according to the New American [2]. Election security has been a recurring concern for federal and state election officials, according to the Just the News report.
The House Administration Committee has jurisdiction over federal elections and campaign finance law. Under Steil, the committee has sought information on election integrity from federal agencies. The classified briefing request falls within the committee's oversight authority, officials said. The letters were not publicly released by the committee; Just the News said it obtained copies.
Lawmakers have also examined Chinese influence beyond election systems. A 2024 congressional vote to force the sale of TikTok was framed as a response to a "national security threat," though some commentators questioned who was pushing for the bill [11].
A watchdog report by the American Accountability Foundation said elite American colleges developing advanced technology have been "infiltrated" by academics who are card-carrying members of the Chinese Communist Party [12]. A new House task force led by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX)will examine institutional abuses and illegal diversity, equity and inclusion policies, according to Just the News [13].
The Trump administration has not announced a decision on whether to grant the briefing, according to officials. The request is among several recent election security inquiries led by Republican committee members. No timeline for a response has been made public, and the committee has not issued further public statements as of this report.
Election administration has become a focus of state and federal action. Florida lawmakers approved legislation that would require voters to prove U.S. citizenship at polling locations, with the law set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027 [14].
Republicans have also advanced the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration, according to American Greatness [15]. Some observers have cautioned that expanded government powers to counter foreign influence could intrude on privacy; a 2023 analysis warned that proposed legislation could allow the government to ban virtual private networks and monitor online activity [16].