February 19, 2026
Trump’s handlers know that a blue wave is swelling in the distance, timed to crash on the Republican Party on November 3, 2026. In panic mode, they are “spitballing” ideas to convince voters that things aren’t as bad as they seem. One of their brilliant ideas is to dispatch members of Trump’s cabinet to key congressional districts to defend the administration’s handling of the economy, immigration, healthcare, and the Epstein files.
We can only hope that the administration follows through on this monumentally bad idea. Let’s consider the most likely Cabinet secretaries to be dispatched to swing districts:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent can advise voters on how to manage the “five, ten, twelve homes“ in their parents’ retirement portfolio. (Washington Examiner; Raw Story).
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick can explain how he “forgot” that he visited Epstein’s island while on a private yacht vacation through the Caribbean. (NBC News)
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem can explain why she needs a $70 million Boeing 737 MAX — twice the cost of the other deportation planes in DHS’s fleet — that features a private cabin in the rear, as she travels the country with Corey Lewandowski, a relationship that reportedly makes Trump “uncomfortable.” See HuffPost, “Kristi Noem And Alleged Lover Have Mile-High ‘Private Cabin’ On Government Plane: Report.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can explain why he spent taxpayer money renovating a Pentagon green room into a personal makeup studio — initially estimated at over $40,000 (pricetag later dropped)—while simultaneously signing a memo eliminating over $580 million in what he called “wasteful Pentagon spending.” See CBS News, “Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon.”
FBI Director Kash Patel can explain why he used a $60 million government jet to attend his girlfriend’s country music performances on multiple occasions. CBS News, Kash Patel once called for ending FBI director’s government jet use. Now he won’t reveal if he’s a frequent flyer.
Health Secretary Robert Kennedy can explain why he promised in confirmation hearings not to cut funding for vaccine research, only to decimate it almost immediately after taking office. (It would be too crass to ask about his admitted “snorting cocaine off toilet seats” or depositing a dead bear cub in Central Park as a prank.) (NPR; ABC News)
Attorney General Pam Bondi can explain why the Epstein client list “was on my desk” before the files were released, but disappeared as soon as Congress forced the release of the Epstein files. (U.S. News & World Report; PBS NewsHour; The Intercept)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio can tell us how much it cost taxpayers to switch the State Department’s official font from Calibri to Times New Roman because Calibri was “too woke.” (New Republic)
There is more, but you get the point. The above is the tip of the iceberg. If Trump sends his privileged, corrupt, tone-deaf cabinet secretaries to campaign for Republicans, it will be a boon to Democrats. The only politically wise place for the Trumpian cabinet secretaries to appear will be in closed settings, like private clubs, five-star restaurants, or golf resorts, where the riffraff (a.k.a. “voters”) won’t have a chance to ask them tough questions.
The fact that Trump and his cronies do not understand that they are out of touch with American voters is regime-ending hubris. While we cannot count on Republicans to defeat themselves, we should be realistic about the fact that they have lost control of the political narrative. And they know it. We must exploit our advantage for all it is worth.
Since even Trump doesn’t realistically believe Republicans can win in a free and fair midterm, they continue to consider anti-democratic means of “stealing” or “rigging” the 2026 midterms.
As always, we should take seriously Trump’s efforts to put a thumb on the electoral scale in 2026. But I recommend (again) an article by Nicholas Grossman in the Bulwark, Trump Can’t Steal the Midterms. Grossman examines each of the current theories of how Trump will allegedly steal the 2026 midterms and addresses them in a sober manner. To be clear, Grossman does not say that we should dismiss those concerns. Instead, he says we must be “vigilant but realistic” about the nature of the threats. Readers who took the time to consider Grossman’s arguments were impressed.
On Thursday, MS Now reported that the Trump administration is considering targeting “naturalized” citizens for voting fraud. See MS Now, White House directing DHS to hunt for voter fraud by naturalized citizens: Sources.
To no one’s surprise, the effort is being directed by Stephen Miller, the great-grandson of naturalized citizens, who is now targeting naturalized citizens. (Interesting fact, Miller’s great-grandfather was initially denied naturalization on grounds of “Ignorance,” but was later naturalized when he learned enough English to pass the citizenship test. See Yahoo News, (6/20/18), Trump aide Stephen Miller, meet your great-grandfather, who flunked his naturalization test.)
Obviously, naturalized citizens can vote, just like all other citizens. But in Stephen Miller’s disturbed mind, naturalized citizens are “suspect.” Why? Because, per Miller, they may have “cheated” to become citizens by, for example, voting before they became citizens. (The obvious question is why anyone would go to the bother of becoming a citizen in order to vote if they were already voting illegally. But I digress.)
Per MS Now,
Launched at the direction of the White House, the people said, the program requires agents to determine if naturalized citizens voted or registered to vote prior to becoming citizens. Investigators are then asked to submit reports to the White House detailing each case in which they declined to bring charges, the people said. An administration official speaking on background disputed that characterization.
The initiative targeting naturalized citizens is pernicious. Millions of Americans, including our First Lady, are naturalized citizens and should not be targeted merely for pursuing a legal pathway to citizenship.
The initiative is particularly cynical because it may be a subterfuge to send ICE agents to polling stations in roving patrols to locate naturalized citizens. See the MS NOW article cited above, which states:
NOW has also learned that senior DHS and Justice Department appointees have held a series of meetings to discuss sending law enforcement to polling places to “secure” elections. This has also ramped up legal concerns for law enforcement and military personnel, according to people involved in their conversations, given that a federal law makes it a crime for military personnel or armed law enforcement to deploy to a polling location in a way that intimidates voters.
Many news outlets are rightly focusing on the unlawful suggestion that ICE agents will show up at the polls . . . but are ignoring the second portion of the MS Now reporting that says it is a crime “for military personnel or armed law enforcement to deploy to a polling location in a way that intimidates voters.”
Democrats have the opportunity in the DHS shutdown negotiations to insert a clause conditioning future funding for DHS agencies on a prohibition on deploying to or near polling locations. A “one-mile” geofence around polling locations would be a good start; or a “stand down” order on Election Day would be better.
In a related development, the Georgia State Election Board may stage a “takeover” of the Fulton County elections operations. See Fox 5 Atlanta, Georgia lawmaker urges state takeover of Fulton County Elections after FBI ballot seizure.
The potential takeover has been brewing since 2021, when Georgia passed a law allowing the state elections board to take over “underperforming” local elections boards.
If a takeover occurs—a likelihood—a GOP-controlled state board will manage the election in Georgia’s largest county, which includes Atlanta. If so, we should assume that the Republicans will attempt to make voting more difficult in Atlanta, a Democratic stronghold.
To be clear, these efforts are bare-knuckle voter suppression tactics that should be condemned, opposed, and defeated. Full stop.
But . . . we should not assume defeat if the state takes over Fulton County’s elections. Voter suppression is a blunt instrument that applies to all voters in the affected jurisdiction. So, let’s consider the following:
Atlanta is the largest source of votes in the state, including for statewide Republican candidates. Republicans have every incentive to ensure that Republican voters in Fulton County can get to the polls. If overall voting is suppressed in Fulton County, that will affect both Democratic and Republican candidates. It might hurt Democrats more, but that is a variable that won’t be known until after the election is complete---a risk that Republicans may not want to run during a blue wave year.
To the extent that the state sets up obstacles to voting, Democrats have advance notice and decades of experience fighting voter suppression. They are in a better position than Republicans in Fulton County to adapt to new obstacles. We are not potted plants; we have agency; we can affect the outcome.
Let’s hope that Fulton County can resist a takeover by the state. But if it doesn’t happen, we know the drill. Get out the vote—whatever it takes!
Concluding Thoughts
I invited readers to comment and email about their experiences with Jesse Jackson. The Comment section is here, and I have pinned comments about Jackson to the top. The Comment section is here: Comments - We are being called to make a choice. We can speak or we can remain silent.
Each of the comments is interesting, but many readers were moved by the comment from reader Linda Ryden:
In 1975, when I was 10 years old, he came to speak at my school. I went to the laboratory school at the University of Chicago. He spoke to a large, diverse audience of children and led us in his famous “I am somebody” call-and-response. He spoke to us as if we were important and could do something to make the world a better place. He encouraged us to take care of each other, to take care of those in need, to invite the stranger to our table. I remember tears streaming down my face as he spoke. I was lucky to be born at a time when my major cultural influences were the Reverend Jackson, Fred Rogers, Marlo Thomas and the Free to Be You and Me album. From that day on, I knew that the most important thing in life is to help and take care of each other and that is what I have tried to do. Thank you for making that a bit easier. Rest in peace, Rev. Jackson
Beautifully said, Linda.
[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]
