With threats hanging over the midterm elections, the states say Trump is not helping

Washington — U.S. intelligence agencies are monitoring the schemes of Russia and other adversaries to interfere in November’s midterm elections, but confronting these threats has been made harder by the cuts that President Donald Trump’s administration has made to the federal election-security infrastructure, according to reporting by the Washington Post, summarised by Political Wire.

The states that will run the 3 November vote say the White House is not helping them confront cyber threats and disinformation campaigns, at a time when tensions over the integrity of the electoral process are rising.

The possible interference of Russia and other countries has long been a concern for U.S. election officials, especially after the documented interference in previous election cycles.

However, the cuts to federal funds and structures dealing with election security have left gaps that are making a coordinated response harder for the states, the report says.

The issue comes to the fore a few weeks before the 3 November midterm elections, where Republicans are defending their narrow majority in Congress.