Defense Secretary Hegseth Directs Action Against Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections

<p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has assigned personnel to utilize advanced intelligence and cyber capabilities to identify, disrupt, and neutralize foreign interference in the upcoming elections, Axios has learned.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> The threat of foreign election interference has been a recurring concern in the U.S. for the past decade. This initiative will employ advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, according to officials.</p><hr /><ul><li>Hegseth's order does not involve military personnel at polling places, but President Trump has not ruled out that possibility, raising concerns among Democrats and critics of the administration.</li></ul><p><strong>Details:</strong> Under a memo authorized by Hegseth on September 22, the secretary committed to combating foreign interference and preserving democratic freedoms. The memo includes three directives:</p><ol><li>Prioritize the department's intelligence and cyber capabilities to prevent foreign actors from interfering in U.S. democratic systems under U.S. Cyber Command and the Directors of the Combat Support Agencies.</li><li>Utilize the Defense Intelligence Enterprise to gather and produce information on foreign threats to elections, in compliance with laws and regulations.</li><li>Counter potential cyber threats from foreign actors targeting elections through joint operations between U.S. Cyber Command and the Department of Homeland Security.</li></ol><p><strong>Context:</strong> The directive is based on Trump's 2025 order titled "Preserving And Protecting The Integrity Of American Elections" and was also a response to his July speech accusing China of interfering in the 2020 election, which China denied.</p><ul><li>This memo follows a similar initiative before the 2022 midterms under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, which directed U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency to disrupt foreign adversaries' ability to interfere with U.S. voting processes.</li></ul><p><strong>Background:</strong> The federal government has increased its role in detecting election threats from foreign governments since 2017, when elections were designated as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland Security.</p><ul><li>Trump's nominee to lead the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd, stated during his confirmation hearing that safeguarding American democracy is fundamental to his mission.</li><li>However, budget cuts proposed by Trump have affected these efforts ahead of the midterms, including cuts to the election security budget for the main DHS component responsible for these initiatives.</li><li>Significant resources have also been allocated to investigate voter fraud in past elections, with parts of DHS's staff assigned to this task.</li></ul><p><strong>Historical context:</strong> Following Trump's loss in 2020, allies shared a memo suggesting the use of DOD's and NSA's unprocessed raw signals data to investigate election fraud. Officials named in the memo denied seeing it at the time.</p><ul><li>Trump had inquired about deploying the National Guard to seize voting machines and expressed regret for not doing so earlier this year.</li></ul><p><strong>Current situation:</strong> Six years later, Trump has again engaged federal officials to seek evidence of election fraud.</p><ul><li>In January, the FBI seized voting machines from Fulton County, Georgia, a Democratic-leaning area where Trump lost in 2020.</li><li>The Justice Department has requested 30 state election offices to retain records related to the 2024 election as part of ongoing litigation.</li><li>Hegseth's latest memo does not authorize the National Guard or military personnel to seize voting machines.</li></ul><p><strong>Implications:</strong> Cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, and network defense are now core missions of the Defense Department, which were not as prominent in 2024 when the technology was newer.</p><ul><li>"This is what CYBERCOM does every day," an official stated. "Defending the country against foreign cyber actors is an enduring mission."</li><li>U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA regularly counter actions by malicious foreign cyber actors, including those intending to interfere with the democratic process, Rudd noted.</li></ul><p><strong>Official statements:</strong> Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that federal, state, and local officials are collaborating with U.S. Cyber Command and defense intelligence teams to prevent foreign interference and attacks.</p>