Trump Administration Dismantles FBI Foreign Influence Task Force and Election Security Teams

The Trump administration eliminated key federal defenses against foreign election interference. Attorney General Pam Bondi dissolved the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, which was created after Russian interference in the 2016 election to coordinate federal responses to foreign influence operations. The administration also placed 17 CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) staffers who work directly with state and local election officials on administrative leave, effectively halting federal-state coordination on election security. Additionally, the administration reduced enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires disclosure of foreign lobbying activities. State election officials and cybersecurity experts warned that dismantling these federal protections would leave Americans vulnerable to foreign disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks targeting election infrastructure. The Foreign Influence Task Force had previously identified an...

"The Trump administration this week eliminated much of the federal government's front line of defense against foreign interference in U.S. elections." — Washington Post reporting on the dismantling of election security infrastructure