Trump Officials Asked Election Security Agency to Secretly Obtain and Hack a Voting Machine, Report Finds

A ProPublica report says aides at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to secretly obtain and hack a voting machine, then brief the White House. The request reportedly came a few months into Donald Trump’s second term and directed CISA—an agency created to defend elections—rather than to stop attacks. According to two former officials, staff were told not to alert the manufacturer about any flaws found, contrary to normal practice. Career employees objected, and CISA staff said the plan never happened and became untenable after recent cuts. The report also cites layoffs reducing CISA’s election security capacity.