TRUMP APPOINTEES ASKED CISA TO HACK VOTING MACHINE

Political appointees at the US Department of Homeland Security asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to secretly obtain and hack a voting machine early in Donald Trump’s second term, two former administration officials said. The officials said the appointees wanted CISA to send its findings to the White House. They also said the request instructed staff to keep any vulnerabilities from the machine’s manufacturer. CISA normally discloses such flaws to manufacturers. Career staff repeatedly objected, and CISA dropped the request, according to the officials.

One former official said: “My thought was they could keep it in their back pocket to invalidate any [election] results they don’t like.” The remark described that official’s concern about how the White House might use the findings; it did not establish the appointees’ intentions. Neither official said CISA obtained or hacked a machine, or that anyone altered votes. The former officials said cuts under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had removed staff who could have carried out the work.

CISA has helped protect US election infrastructure from cyber attacks and interference since 2018. Reported staffing figures put its job losses since the start of Trump’s second term at 1,000, about a third of its workforce. Staff and funding shortages have curtailed CISA’s election work ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections. State officials have expressed concern about the support the agency can provide for those elections.