The Trump administration has reduced federal funding by millions of dollars for two cybersecurity programs, including one that supports state and local election officials. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has stopped providing about $10 million in yearly funding to the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, according to a spokesperson for CISA in an email sent on Monday. 

The Trump administration has taken another step to reduce the federal government's involvement in election security. This move has raised concerns about weakening safeguards designed to prevent foreign interference in US elections. The CISA recently announced that it was reviewing its work related to elections. As part of this review, over a dozen employees involved in election-related tasks were placed on administrative leave. This decision came after the administration disbanded an FBI task force that had been investigating foreign influence efforts, including those aimed at US elections. Larry Norden, an election security expert at NYU's School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice, stated, “I have grave concern for state and local election officials and for the security of our elections going forward."

In recent years, Republicans have consistently criticised CISA for its role in addressing misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, former CISA leaders clarified that the agency never practised censorship. Instead, they stated that CISA only collaborated with states to inform social media companies about misinformation circulating on their platforms. When asked on Monday about the status of the review on CISA's election work and the possibility of sharing the report, an agency spokesperson explained that the review was conducted internally. They added that its purpose was to guide the agency's future support for critical infrastructure and that there were no plans to make the report public.

Two cybersecurity initiatives are facing budget cuts- the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which involves state and local election officials along with voting system manufacturers, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which supports state, local, and tribal government offices. Both initiatives are managed by the nonprofit organisation, the Center for Internet Security. The agency announced that it would stop funding activities such as cyber threat intelligence, cyber incident response, and coordination with state and local government officials. According to the agency, this decision aims to prioritise CISA's essential tasks and remove overlapping efforts. After CISA's decision, the Center for Internet Security announced online that it would no longer support its election-related initiative. 

When asked about the impact of these cuts, a spokesperson for the Center for Internet Security did not respond to emailed questions. Meanwhile, the National Association of Secretaries of State, which includes top election officials from various states, is seeking details from CISA about the decision and its recent election-focused review, according to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat and president of the bipartisan group. Simon mentioned that he was waiting for additional information before forming any conclusions. He also stated that the group's executive board recently wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, urging CISA to continue providing services to state and local election officials, including support for the election information sharing centre. “We got a lot out of it,” Simon said Monday. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is part of the Department of Homeland Security, though it operates under its own Senate-confirmed director. 

President Donald Trump has not yet nominated someone to lead CISA. The agency was established in 2018 during Trump's first term and is responsible for safeguarding the country's critical infrastructure, including dams, nuclear power plants, banks and voting systems. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the National Association of State Election Directors mentioned that the group is awaiting information from the Center for Internet Security regarding how federal budget cuts might impact its operations. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who led the executive committee for the election information-sharing initiative, highlighted its vital role in last year's presidential election. She explained that election officials reported cyberattacks and shared key information in real time, enabling Maine to block attempts to target its networks before any damage occurred. “We will find a way to protect our elections," said Bellows, a Democrat. "But given the sophistication of these threats, the elimination of the (information sharing initiative) is both inefficient and extremely dangerous.”