Trump executive order on voter fraud quietly stalled

White House staffers told reporters on the afternoon of Jan. 26 to get ready, that it was nearly time to be escorted into the Oval Office to witness Trump sign the order. But the photo-op was abruptly postponed. And now, though more than a week has passed, it has yet to be rescheduled with no timetable announced for its return.

The White House also abruptly canceled an executive action on cybersecurity this week, after briefing reporters on its text and putting the signing ceremony on the president's public schedule. That action has not yet been signed.

Trump's call for a probe alarmed Democrats who already believe that efforts to tighten voter ID laws are a means to restrict access to the ballot box. And soon members of Trump's own party suggested it was misguided.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, broke with Trump, saying he sees no evidence of voter fraud in the 2016 election and says his committee won't investigate it. He said Trump is free to order the Justice Department to investigate the issue, but that he was not interested in launching a congressional inquiry.

Trump's own attorneys dismissed claims of voter fraud in a legal filing late last year responding to Green Party candidate Jill Stein's demand for a recount in Michigan, a state Trump won. Referring to that outcome, the attorneys wrote: "All available evidence suggests that the 2016 general election was not tainted by fraud or mistake."White House press secretary Sean Spicer said last week that a task force could be commissioned to focus on dead people who remained on voter rolls and people registered in two or more states. And he said it could center on "bigger" states where Trump didn't compete during the campaign, singling out California and New York, two Democratic strongholds.

No details have been released about the possible probe, including who would oversee it. One possibility would be Sessions, who has shown sympathy toward claims of voting fraud. He will likely face a Senate confirmation vote next week. The president himself can't order a criminal investigation.