Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon's intelligence and spy forces to make election security a priority in a "no-fail mission" aimed at preventing foreign interference in the upcoming midterm elections. The directive, issued in September, mobilizes the entire Defense Intelligence Enterprise, including agencies responsible for military and geospatial intelligence, to utilize "every authorized asset, capability, and partnership" against foreign election threats.
The order extends beyond the U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, instructing them to identify foreign hackers or influence operations overseas, warn civilian agencies of incoming threats, and, when authorized, for Cyber Command to take action against foreign actors or their infrastructure. The military's role, however, is primarily focused on threats originating outside the U.S. border, with state and local officials managing elections and federal agencies like the FBI and Department of Homeland Security handling domestic security.
This election security mission is not new for the Pentagon. Cyber Command and the NSA have spent years tracking and disrupting foreign threats around U.S. elections. The effort took its current shape before the 2018 midterms with a "Russia Small Group" focused on foreign interference, which later evolved into a joint Election Security Group. In 2022, the then-head of Cyber Command and NSA described election security as an "enduring, no-fail mission."
While the military's election security efforts have been ongoing, the extent to which Hegseth's September directive has altered or enhanced existing operations remains unclear. The Department of War declined to provide specific details on the directive's implementation, and Cyber Command also did not grant an interview request regarding its election security efforts. It has not been publicly disclosed if new authorities or a new election security organization have been established by the directive, which appears to reinforce an existing mission.
Despite these efforts, U.S. intelligence officials have stated they have not seen evidence of foreign adversaries attempting to interfere with voting machines, election infrastructure, or vote counting ahead of Tuesday's midterms. However, lawmakers have urged the public to remain "on high alert" for foreign disinformation, especially as artificial intelligence makes such campaigns easier to spread. Russia, China, and Iran are being tracked for foreign influence efforts, with Russia identified as the most active threat.
Foreign adversaries target U.S. elections not just to influence outcomes, but also to undermine confidence in the democratic process, potentially shaping U.S. policy and deepening societal divisions without direct interference in the voting systems themselves.