DHS appointees requested CISA secretly hack a voting machine

Political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) secretly acquire and hack a voting machine during the early months of President Donald Trump’s second term. According to former administration officials, the goal was to have CISA examine the machine and report findings directly to the White House.

Career staffers at CISA reportedly found the request shocking, as the agency’s standard mission is to thwart hackers rather than conduct such operations. Furthermore, appointees allegedly directed the agency not to alert voting machine companies if flaws were discovered, which deviates from established protocols. Staffers expressed concerns that the operation could be used to invalidate election results.

CISA employees reportedly told appointees the request was impossible, partly because the specialized agents required for such a task had recently been laid off through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The appointees eventually ceased pressing for the operation.