State and local election officials have counted on the federal government to protect elections. They can no longer rely on this support as voters can no longer rely on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to protect their voting rights.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA was one of the first federal agencies on the chopping block in this administration. CISA, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), provides services, training, and assessments for state and local election officials in all states to understand and manage the security threats they will face. In the administration’s early days, CISA placed seventeen of their election security staff on administrative leave. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) then fired 130 people from CISA. A judge reinstated these employees who were then placed on immediate administrative leave. Also in February, CISA paused all election security activities pending sn internal review. While the review was completed in March, the Trump administration has refused to release any of the findings so it is unclear which if any services have been restored despite repeated requests from Congress for information.
In addition to staffing cuts, CISA has cut over ten million dollars in cybersecurity support to state and local election offices. Cuts to staffing and funding exposes election infrastructure to both cyberattacks and physical attacks and leaves election officials with less support to run safe and secure elections.
Trump’s DOJ civil rights division chief, Assistant Attorney General Dhillon, has implemented a huge shift in the department’s role. Rather than protecting voting rights especially for minority groups, the division now focuses on finding and eliminating voter fraud which is extremely rare. This shift was laid out in Project 2025 as well as in the president’s executive order on voting. After January 2025, the DOJ dropped every voting rights case in which it was involved. The civil rights division cut its staff by approximately 70%. They are currently in the process of hiring new attorneys but the vast majority of senior staff is gone.
The Constitution establishes a system of checks and balances to protect free and fair elections. The power to regulate elections lies with the states and Congress. The judicial system upholds the Constitution. The executive branch has no authority to control elections, but that is what Trump is trying to do. By dismantling and defunding agencies whose role is to protect elections and voting rights, Trump is trying to subvert elections. State and local election officials, state legislatures, independent federal agencies, Congress, the courts and voters must prevent Trump from interfering in any and all elections going forward.