As feds pull back, states look inward for election security support
As feds pull back, states look inward for election security support
https://cyberscoop.com/cisa-election-security-cutbacks-states-trump-administration/
Publish Date: 2026-02-02 18:06:00
Source Domain: cyberscoop.com
It’s no secret that the Trump administration has radically altered the federal government’s relationship with state election officials since being sworn into power last year.
While his first term included the creation of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the distribution of hundreds of millions in congressional funding sent to help states upgrade election security, Trump’s second term has so far been more adversarial toward states.
As CyberScoop and others have reported, CISA has scaled back its election security support – in some cases shuttering work on topics like disinformation — while firing or sidelining election security specialists at the agency. The administration is also pursuing voter data from all 50 states, an effort that has been called “unprecedented and illegal” by one court.
Congressional Democrats, including California Sen. Alex Padilla, have been sharply critical of the federal government’s support for elections under the second Trump administration.
Cuts to CISA’s funding and staff, combined with the absence of dedicated congressional funding for election security grants, have “created a scenario where states may feel a lot more like they’re going it alone than as opposed to working in partnership,” said Padilla. The current senator served as Secretary of State for California before being appointed in 2021 to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes was discussing the status of a $650,000 package moving through the Arizona legislature with an aide when CyberScoop approached him for an interview at the National Association of Secretaries of State winter conference.
Fontes said the spending package (which passed later that day) would help Arizona patch vulnerabilities and recover from last year’s cyberattack on the state’s online portal for political candidates. The attack also defaced state websites with pro-Iranian…
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