Trump Administration Scrambles to Rebuild CISA Election Security Infrastructure as Midterms Near

CISA is reassigning remaining staff into new liaison roles meant to "build trusted relationships" with state and local officials, according to an internal planning memo emailed to Capitol Hill staff on July 17 and obtained by CNN 12. The agency says it will adapt a security mechanism used during the World Cup and will release a public plan within 30 days detailing cyber and physical security resources for states; CISA acting Director Nick Andersen said the plan will offer states no-cost voluntary services including threat-information sharing, technical expertise, and vulnerability scanning 12. A CISA official briefing congressional staff this month said the agency lacks the staff to provide its normal election-security assistance before the midterms after regional election specialists were removed from CISA's 10 regional offices, according to a US official 12. Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told CNN their offices have contracted private vendors, built their own tabletop exercises, and organized informal advisor networks after months of limited CISA contact 12. The Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center portal, once federally funded, now operates on a paid-subscription basis across 44 states 12.