In a Thursday night address, President Donald Trump released declassified intelligence exposing how China and other countries attempted to interfere in American elections.
The report published online contained CIA assessments that found "U.S. adversaries, including at a minimum Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as non-state groups, have the capability to compromise U.S. election infrastructure."
"You have to trust your country because if there can be no trust, there can be no greatness," Trump said during his speech. "Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately in a system. And that is to make that system secure. One where cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible. Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard."
The report also found evidence that China "stole" and "exploited" American voter data to manipulate the 2020 election and that "deep state" actors downplayed the extent of the Communist country's "sinister election meddling."
Trump said the report underscored the dire need for the U.S. Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which would strengthen election security and require voter identification.
"Newly released government documents reveal that China accessed information connected to more than 220 million American voters and sought to interfere in our elections. President [Trump] is exposing the threat," U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) said on X following Trump's speech.
"Now the Senate must act. Only United States citizens should decide United States elections. Pass the SAVE America Act and secure our elections before it is too late."
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) again called for ending the filibuster to pass the Act.
"If we don't pass the SAVE America Act, we might as well all pack up and go home. Blow up the filibuster. Whatever it takes," he said.
U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) said on X, "The House has passed the SAVE America Act. The Senate needs to do the same. Asking people to prove they are legal voters is not a burden; it's common sense.
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) dismissed the report as "baseless, debunked conspiracies," harkening back to Trump's previous election questioning for sparking a protest at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
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