{"id":30021,"date":"2026-09-29T01:53:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T01:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=30021"},"modified":"2026-09-29T01:53:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T01:53:51","slug":"us-military-to-guard-midterms-after-donald-trump-gutted-agency-that-protects-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=30021","title":{"rendered":"US military to guard midterms after Donald Trump gutted agency that protects elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134553780,imgsize-148734,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-majority-and-democrats-target-key-battleground-seats.jpg\" alt=\"US military to guard midterms after Donald Trump gutted agency that protects elections\" title=\"Trump has significantly reduced the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Trump has significantly reduced the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.\">Trump has significantly reduced the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>US military intelligence and cybersecurity agencies will help protect American election systems during the November midterm elections, defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>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 \u201ccritical infrastructure\u201d in 2017, paving the way for greater federal cybersecurity support.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>Hegseth&#8217;s announcement comes weeks before Election Day on November 3, with early voting already underway.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Military steps in as civilian capacity shrinks<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>The announcement follows major changes to the civilian agency responsible for protecting US election infrastructure.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>David Becker, a former US Justice Department attorney who now heads the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation &amp; Research, questioned the timing of the latest move.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>\u201cIf the administration was serious about assisting state and local election officials, they shouldn&#8217;t have dismantled all of the federal government&#8217;s election cybersecurity capacity and fired all their experts in early 2025,\u201d he said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>Becker said the short timeframe before the election \u201csuggests this is just theater\u201d.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Concerns over possible interference<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>Trump has continued to make unsubstantiated claims about widespread election fraud and has sought changes to established election procedures.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>What Hegseth ordered<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/>\u201cto 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.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/>The move places military cyber capabilities alongside existing state, local and federal efforts to protect voting infrastructure ahead of the November elections.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/us-military-to-guard-midterms-after-donald-trump-gutted-agency-that-protects-elections\/articleshow\/134553721.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"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 [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":3,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9-senate-races-that-could-decide-the-2026-midterm-elections-as-republicans-fight-to-hold-their-major-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}