Trump Secures Elections by Removing Election Security

The Trump administration has achieved a historic breakthrough in election security by removing many of the people, briefings, tests and working relationships that had cluttered the system with security. State officials said Washington halted intelligence briefings, training and systems testing ahead of the November midterms, while the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency shed nearly one-third of its staff in early 2025. The reductions have sharply limited the number of federal employees available to discover election threats, allowing the administration to report fewer discovered election threats and declare the problem solved.

Utah Republican Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said states were “in the dark” about foreign interference, a condition administration officials described as the gold standard for information security because undisclosed intelligence cannot be leaked, misunderstood or used. “We have the strongest election security anywhere, maybe ever, because we got rid of the election-security people who kept finding election-security problems,” President Donald Trump said. “Very expensive people, very nervous people, always saying ‘threat, threat, threat.’ Now the threats are much quieter. Total success.” Officials noted that foreign adversaries have issued no public complaints about the reduced federal oversight, confirming that they also approve of the reforms.

The administration has additionally left CISA without a permanent director, implementing a streamlined command structure in which states can avoid confusion by receiving no definitive federal direction. Idaho Republican Secretary of State Phil McGrane called the situation a “holding pattern,” although administration officials said holding patterns are safer than landings because landings require coordination, trained personnel and a destination. A new federal blueprint promises threat sharing and technical support shortly before Election Day, ensuring the assistance arrives after states have completed most preparations and therefore cannot become dependent on it. States will instead rely on private contractors, emergency appropriations and their own strained staffs, while any successful intrusion will be classified as proof that local officials should have prepared better. By eliminating the capacity to identify election-security failures, the administration has eliminated election-security failures.

* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.