A Republican coalition in Utah has pushed back against Sen. Mike Lee after he sided with President Donald Trump’s administration in a dispute with state election officials, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The dispute began earlier this week when Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson criticized the Justice Department’s investigation of her office over its handling of state election data. Henderson said the investigation threatened Utah’s rights and responsibilities under state law.

“It would be nice if the good folks at the DOJ would focus on actual problems instead of baselessly harassing election officials,” Henderson wrote on social media. She included part of a letter from the DOJ stating that “she is currently under investigation” for refusing to provide the department with unfettered access to Utah voters’ private data.

Lee, a staunch Trump ally, responded within hours. “Election security is the ‘actual problem,’” he wrote.

Utah is a Republican state, with an all-Republican delegation in the U.S. House and Senate. Lee’s response nevertheless drew criticism from Republican officials who argued that he was placing Trump’s position above the state’s authority over elections.

On Thursday, Gov. Spencer Cox and former Gov. Gary Herbert both defended Henderson. Cox said legal disputes between Utah and the federal government should be handled by the courts rather than through an investigation or threats against a state official.

“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. He had largely remained silent about the DOJ’s threats until this week. Cox also addressed the issue on X.

In July, Trump’s DOJ sent letters to election officials in all 50 states warning of “criminal penalties” if noncitizens voted in the upcoming election. Herbert said Henderson was right to “defend her constitutional role as Utah’s elections leader.”

“Elections are the responsibility of the states, and Utah conducts them with integrity. Lt. Gov. and her office are doing a terrific job protecting that tradition,” Herbert added, according to the Tribune.

Both Cox and Herbert previously served as lieutenant governor, a position that oversees Utah’s elections, similar to a secretary of state in other states. The Tribune also noted that Lee has previously faced criticism over texts advising Trump on how to overturn his 2020 electoral loss.

Utah officials maintain that the federal government has not “provided a legal basis” for requesting the voter data. Henderson says complying with the DOJ’s demand would violate Utah privacy laws. The Tribune reported that Utah’s federal district court had not scheduled a hearing in the DOJ’s case against Henderson as of the report’s publication.

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