Exclusive: Hegseth directs Defense Dept. to fight foreigners who "meddle" in U.S. elections
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has assigned personnel to use "advanced intelligence and cyber capabilities to identify, disrupt, and neutralize foreign interference" in the upcoming elections, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The threat of foreign election interference has been a biennial U.S. concern for the past decade. This effort will use the most advanced artificial intelligence capabilities to date, officials said.
- Hegseth's order does not direct military personnel to the polls, but President Trump has refused to rule out that possibility, heightening concern from Democrats and administration critics.
Zoom in: Under a memo Hegseth authorized on Sept. 22 that has not been reported previously, the secretary pledged to fight foreign interference and uphold democratic freedoms. The memo has three related directives:
- Prioritize his department's "intelligence and cyber capabilities to ensure foreign actors do not meddle in our democratic systems" under U.S. Cyber Command and the Directors of the Combat Support Agencies.
- Use the Defense Intelligence Enterprise to collect and produce information "on foreign threats to our elections, in accordance with the law, regulation, Executive direction."
- Counter "potential cyber threats from foreign actors targeting our elections" through joint operations between U.S. Cyber Command and the Department of Homeland Security.
Catch up quick: The directive relies on Trump's 2025 order titled "Preserving And Protecting The Integrity Of American Elections" and was also drafted in response to his July speech accusing China of interfering in the 2020 election, which China denied.
- This memo from Hegseth follows a similar effort before the 2022 midterms under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, that directed U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency to "disrupt, deter, and degrade foreign adversaries' ability to interfere with and influence how U.S. citizens vote and how those votes are counted."
Zoom out: The federal government has played an increased role in detecting election threats from foreign governments since 2017, when elections were designated critical infrastructure by DHS.
- Trump's pick to lead the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd, told senators during his confirmation hearing that such work was "fundamental" and that he'd continue to "safeguard" American democracy.
- But Trump's own government cuts have slashed these efforts ahead of the midterms. He proposed cutting the election security budget for the main DHS component responsible, CISA, and staffing at other key posts was delayed.
- Meanwhile, significant resources have been put into finding instances of voter fraud in past elections and on the voter rolls, with portions of DHS's staff assigned to that.
Flashback: After Trump's loss in 2020, Trump allies shared a memo asking the president to use DOD's and NSA's "unprocessed raw signals data" to try to investigate election fraud, according to the Washington Post.
- The officials named in the memo and asked to act on it denied seeing it at the time.
- Trump inquired about ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines at the time and, earlier this year, expressed regret to the New York Times that he didn't do so.
Six years later, Trump already has used federal officials to seek election fraud evidence.
- In January, the FBI seized voter machines used in the 2020 election from Fulton County, Ga., a heavily Democratic-leaning county in a state he lost that year.
- The Justice Department has formally asked 30 state election offices to hold on to records connected to the 2024 election as part of ongoing litigation to review election materials.
- This latest memo from Hegseth doesn't direct the National Guard or any military personnel to seize voting machines.
Between the lines: Cyber capabilities, AI and network defense are now core missions of the Defense Department. That wasn't the case in 2024, when the technology was newer and the department needed specialized teams for missions like election security, officials said.
- "This is what CYBERCOM does every day," an official said. "Defending the country against foreign cyber actors is an enduring mission."
- U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA "regularly counter actions by malicious foreign cyber actors, including those with the intent to interfere with our democratic process," Rudd said.
What they're saying: Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said federal, state and local officials are working "in lockstep" with U.S. Cyber Command and defense intelligence teams to halt foreign interference and attacks.
