Senator warns CISA election security pullback could leave midterms vulnerable
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., participates in the From Capital to Capability: Rebuilding U.S. Industrial Strength panel during The Hill & Valley Forum 2026 at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on March 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for The Hill & Valley Forum
Mark Warner, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat, pressed DHS over reports that states are no longer receiving the same cybersecurity and protection support ahead of the 2026 elections.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security over what he says is a sharp decline in federal election security support ahead of the 2026 midterms, warning that cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency could leave states more exposed to cyber threats and foreign interference.
In a letter sent Wednesday to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Warner said state and local officials have reported that CISA is no longer providing the same level of election security training, intelligence sharing and cybersecurity assistance it offered in prior election cycles.
The letter adds to growing criticism over the Trump administration’s handling of CISA and its election security mission, which has faced deep staffing reductions enacted over the last year.
“While the states are taking valiant and expensive measures to protect their elections, it is impossible for states to independently obtain intelligence, subject-matter expertise, and real-time incident reporting, and information at the scale and speed required to protect state elections from physical and cyber threats,” Warner wrote.
DHS and CISA spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Efforts under the Trump administration to scale back CISA and its election security resources have strained relationships with state and local officials and have raised concerns that jurisdictions may be far less prepared to counter threats in November, officials in Michigan and Georgia said late last month.
The administration’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal would eliminate the agency’s election security program funding, including information-sharing efforts and election security advisor positions.
Warner’s letter also cited testimony delivered last week by the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, who said that foreign adversaries are expected to target the 2026 elections.
The senator asked DHS to explain what CISA is doing to warn state and local officials about malign influence campaigns and cyber threats targeting election infrastructure. He also requested records of election-related training, cybersecurity reviews, incident responses and outreach efforts that have been conducted by the agency since January 2025.
He also asked DHS whether any CISA personnel were involved in an FBI raid tied to election systems in Fulton County, Georgia — where Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was publicly seen alongside federal officials — or in her office’s seizure and testing of voting machines in Puerto Rico.
The letter comes as the future of CISA’s election security role has become increasingly uncertain. Republican lawmakers and many Trump allies have long criticized the agency’s election-related activities, particularly after CISA publicly pushed back on false claims surrounding the 2020 election.