Utah Sen. Lee says fellow GOP elections official wrong to defy Trump's DOJ seeking voter rolls

The Justice Department is investigating Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican, for refusing to provide the state's unredacted voter database. 

"It would be nice if the good folks at the DOJ would focus on actual problems instead of baselessly harassing election officials," Henderson said in a post on Threads. 

After Henderson shared the letter from the DOJ informing her of the investigation, Utah Sen. Mike Lee countered with: "Election security is the 'actual problem,'" The Salt Lake Tribune reported. 

Other Republicans supported Henderson. Of the 30 states the DOJ is suing to obtain the unredacted voter rolls, eight, including Utah, have Republican election chiefs. On Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and former Gov. Gary Herbert also came to Henderson's defense. 

"Legal disagreements between Utah and the federal government should be resolved in court. It is wrong for the DOJ to investigate or threaten the lieutenant governor for carrying out her responsibilities under Utah law," Cox said in a post on X. 

So far, federal courts hearing the DOJ’s lawsuits against 30 states and Washington, D.C., have disagreed with the department’s interpretation of the law. District judges have ruled against the Trump administration in 23 of those cases, and one appeal has been tossed.