Steve Bannon Says ICE Deployment To Airports Can Be Used As a 'Test Run' To 'Perfect ICE's Involvement In The 2026 Midterms'

Former White House advisor Steve Bannon said ICE's deployment to airports to replace TSA agents during the ongoing funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security could be used as a "test run" to "perfect" its "involvement in the 2026 midterms."

Bannon made the remarks during his "War Rooms" podcast. "We can use this, ICE helping at airports, as a test run, a test case, to really perfect ICE's involvement in the 2026 midterms," he said, framing it as a question to his interviewee, Mike Davis, Founder and President of Article III Project.

Bannon had already sparked controversy after saying earlier this year that ICE "will surround the polls" in the midterm elections. "You can whine and cry and throw your toys out all you want but We'll never again allow an election to be stolen," Bannon said in February.

Those remarks came after President Donald Trump said Republicans should "nationalize" elections and take over the voting process from states in some places.

"The Republicans should say, 'We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least — many, 15 places.' The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting," Trump said during an appearance in former Deputy FBI Dan Bongino's podcast.

Asked about Bannon's comments from February, then White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she could offer "no guarantee," calling the question "a very silly hypothetical" and adding she had not heard the president discuss "any formal plans."

However, a senior Department of Homeland Security official told state election leaders later in February that ICE officers won't be deployed, calling the claims "simply misinformation."

Heather Honey, DHS deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, made the remarks during a private call Wednesday with election officials and representatives from the Election Assistance Commission, the Justice Department and the FBI.

"Any suggestion that ICE is going to be present at polling places is simply disinformation," Honey said, according to four people on the call who were interviewed by Politico. "There will be no ICE presence at polling locations."

ICE agents are being deployed to airports as the prolonged shutdown, now in its second month, has left Transportation Security Administration workers unpaid, contributing to staffing shortages and long lines at major airports.

ICE agents were deployed Monday to more than a dozen airports, including Chicago, Houston, New York and Philadelphia. Officials said their role would focus on support tasks such as managing exits rather than conducting immigration enforcement.

On Truth Social, Trump also said he supports ICE agents wearing masks during enforcement operations but would "greatly appreciate... NO MASKS" when assisting at airports.