Trump reduces CISA role as military steps in to protect US election systems

Trump has significantly reduced the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

US military intelligence and cybersecurity agencies will help protect American election systems during the November midterm elections, defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said. The National Security Agency and other military cyber units have long assisted with monitoring election infrastructure and defending it against possible hacking attempts. Election systems were designated as “critical infrastructure” in 2017, paving the way for greater federal cybersecurity support. Hegseth's announcement comes weeks before Election Day on November 3, with early voting already underway.

Military steps in as civilian capacity shrinks

The announcement follows major changes to the civilian agency responsible for protecting US election infrastructure. President Donald Trump has significantly reduced the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, within the Department of Homeland Security. The agency was specifically created to help protect critical infrastructure, including election systems. CISA last week released an election infrastructure security plan outlining possible threats to voting systems and the assistance it could provide to state and local election officials. David Becker, a former US Justice Department attorney who now heads the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, questioned the timing of the latest move. “If the administration was serious about assisting state and local election officials, they shouldn't have dismantled all of the federal government's election cybersecurity capacity and fired all their experts in early 2025,” he said. Becker said the short timeframe before the election “suggests this is just theater”.

Concerns over possible interference

Cybersecurity assistance from the NSA and US Cyber Command is not new. However, election experts, civil rights groups and Democratic officials have expressed concern about possible government interference in voting and ballot-counting processes. Trump has continued to make unsubstantiated claims about widespread election fraud and has sought changes to established election procedures. The Supreme Court recently blocked an attempt by Trump to restrict mail voting. It has, however, allowed the use of a federal database to verify the citizenship of voters.

What Hegseth ordered

In a September 22 memo made public on Monday, Hegseth instructed defence intelligence officials to use all available resources to protect election systems from foreign threats. “to defend our election infrastructure from foreign malign influence and ensure that every lawful voter can cast their ballot free from foreign intimidation, coercion, or fear.” The move places military cyber capabilities alongside existing state, local and federal efforts to protect voting infrastructure ahead of the November elections.

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