Days after a tense gathering in Washington, D.C., laid bare growing acrimony between President Donald Trump's administration and state election officials, the FBI invited those same officials to discuss "preparations" for the midterm elections.
The invitation, which was first reported by Crooked Media and confirmed to NBC News by an election official who received it, is scheduled for Feb. 25. It will include the FBI, the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Election Assistance Commission.
The invitation, which was sent this week, according to the election official, was signed by Kellie M. Hardiman, who identified herself as an "FBI Election Executive." A LinkedIn page for Hardiman says she was appointed seven months ago.
The official who was invited and requested anonymity to speak candidly called it “unusual and unexpected,” adding that they planned to attend and believed officials from all states were invited.
“No one has heard of this person — and we’re all wondering what an 'FBI Election Executive' is,” the official added.
The invitation said it was to "discuss preparations for the cycle, as well as updates and resources we can provide to you and your staff."
An FBI spokesperson said in a statement Friday: "The Election Executive is not a new role. There have been designated executives in previous election cycles to take point on coordinating election related matters and speaking on behalf of the FBI. The FBI has conducted outreach in prior cycles through groups like the National Association of Secretaries of States and participated in threat overview briefs with federal partners."
Last week, at a meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State, officials pushed back against a Trump administration official who spoke about supporting election officials’ work.
The Justice Department is suing dozens of states for their voter roll data. Just last week, the FBI raided a county elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, seizing hundreds of boxes of election materials in connection with the 2020 election.
Trump continues to falsely claim that he won the 2020 election and spread election conspiracy theories. This week, he suggested he supported nationalizing elections in at least some areas.
"The Republicans should say: 'We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least — many, 15 places,'" Trump said in an interview on a conservative podcast. "The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting."
The U.S. Constitution gives states the power to set the rules of and administer their own elections, though Congress can set some regulations, too.
