Military forces assigned an election role
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the National Security Agency and other military intelligence forces will guard election systems during the November midterms. The effort will also involve military cybersecurity personnel. These specialists have routinely monitored systems and deterred hackers since election equipment became critical infrastructure in 2017.
In a September 22 memo announced Monday, Hegseth directed defense intelligence officials to mobilize every available resource. His order aims to protect election infrastructure from foreign influence. It also seeks to let lawful voters cast ballots without foreign intimidation, coercion or fear.
Civilian safeguards face major changes
However, the announcement follows President Donald Trump’s reduction of the civilian agency created to protect election infrastructure. That office belongs to the Department of Homeland Security and is known as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Its election experts and broader federal cybersecurity capacity were cut in early 2025.
Despite those reductions, the agency released an election infrastructure security plan last week. The document identifies possible threats to voting systems and lists services available to election officials. Both that plan and Hegseth’s announcement arrived only weeks before the November 3 election, after early voting had begun.
Timing raises concerns among election experts
Meanwhile, David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research questioned whether the short timeline made the initiative largely symbolic. He argued that serious federal assistance would not have included dismantling election cybersecurity capacity and dismissing experts. Other specialists, civil rights groups and Democratic officials are also watching for possible interference in voting or ballot counting.
The scrutiny comes as Trump continues to make false claims that elections contain widespread fraud and challenges established election procedures. The Supreme Court blocked his attempt to restrict mail voting. Nevertheless, it permitted officials to use a federal database to check voters’ citizenship.
References
Cooper, J. J. (2026, September 29). Hegseth says national security, military cyber forces will guard US election systems during midterms. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/nsa-hegseth-trump-midterms-election-security-2bfc1417d397db5fda4ad672c0b35ee2