Senate Republican vows to defy Trump appointment
TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall vowed to be on the Kansas general election ballot in November and to decline administrative appointment from President Donald Trump during the next two years.
Marshall, a Kansas Republican seeking reelection to a second term in the U.S. Senate, made the declaration Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“I will be on the ballot on Election Day (and) will be honored to represent the people of Kansas for the next six years going forward. It’s been the honor of my lifetime,” Marshall said before shifting the conversation to Trump’s economic performance.
“Meet the Press” host Ryan Nobles brought Marshall back to the potential he could resign from the Senate: “So, that means you’re ruling out any sort of an appointment in the Trump administration, just to button it up.”
“I am ruling out any appointment in the Trump administration at least through the next two or two or three years,” the GOP senator said. “Who knows what would happen four years from now, OK?”
Marshall’s status as a candidate in the 2026 election and as a possible Trump appointee have been the source of controversy after questions were raised about implementation of a 2025 Kansas law that guarantees a Republican would replace Marshall if he resigned. In addition, the state law says filling a U.S. Senate vacancy in Kansas because of a resignation after May 1 and before Oct. 2 in an election year would allow the replacement to avoid a Senate election for two years.
“I got so much more work to do as a United States senator,” Marshall said. “But, America is back. And I’m just proud to keep serving in this position.”
Adam Hamilton, among 11 candidates for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, has sought to propel his candidacy ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election by questioning potential reliance on the state law by the Kansas Republican Party.
“Kansans know Rev. Adam Hamilton is the best candidate to take on Roger Marshall and win,” said Tyson Brody, spokesman for the Hamilton campaign. “The Kansas GOP is so worried they’re trying to jettison Marshall, cancel the election and even talking about taking away Kansans’ right to elect senators.”
In the television interview, Nobles asked Marshall about the Save America Act advocated by Trump and passed by the U.S. House. The bill, which is tied up in the U.S. Senate, includes a provision requiring people to show a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. In addition, the legislation would require people to present a photo ID to vote.
“Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting. There’s no evidence that fraudulent votes have changed any election outcomes. Are you trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist?” Nobles asked Marshall.
“The issue right now is again that Americans don’t feel that the elections are trustworthy. No one wants their vote canceled … by an ‘illegal alien’ or by a dead person,” Marshall said.
In response, Nobles said the Heritage Foundation conducted a study that found 100 instances of noncitizens voting in U.S. elections since the 1980s. He said Trump’s claim of sweeping election fraud didn’t hold up to scrutiny.
“I guess we just look at this differently,” Marshall said. “What are Democrats running from? Why are they afraid? If what you’re saying is true, then why are you worried about this? Why not have voter ID? Why not have some type of proof of citizenship.”
In 2018, a federal judge struck down a Kansas law that required new voters to prove their citizenship. The law had prevented more than 30,000 lawful voters from registering, and then-Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is now the attorney general, failed to prove his claims of widespread voter fraud.
