Mike Johnson cautions that adversaries of liberty can participate in DC’s local elections

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) laid out his plans to roll back a voting law in Washington, D.C., which he warned allows noncitizens to vote in local elections.

House Republicans are set to bring up HR 192 for a vote on Thursday, which would override a local law in the District of Columbia and prevent noncitizens from voting in local elections. Johnson explained that this bill is part of the Republican Party’s larger effort to improve election security, and that this current law is problematic due to how it allows people who live in the Washington, D.C., area for at least 30 days to vote.

“That means Russian spies, it means Chinese officials, it means enemies of freedom could help decide who the mayor is in D.C. and who the council is,” Johnson said on Fox News’s The Faulkner Focus.

The speaker described this as “a real problem,” and one that could become more serious if it is applied nationwide. He argued that if even 1 million illegal immigrants choose to get registered to vote, it would change the course of both presidential elections and congressional elections.

Johnson also discussed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which House Republicans are planning to introduce once the Memorial Day holiday is over. This bill, Johnson explained, will require states to have people provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote; the bill would also require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls in federal elections.

“We’ve got to do that,” Johnson said. “We have an absolute responsibility.”

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Republicans have made election security a major talking point ahead of the 2024 presidential election, as many have questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee announced last month that it will launch an “election integrity” program this year to preserve “the sanctity” of the election.

Ahead of Thursday’s vote on HR 192, some Democrats have criticized the bill for being redundant, and that these election security bills are being brought in preparation for claims Trump could make about election interference.