{
  "id": 10518931,
  "title": "Exclusive: Hegseth directs Defense Dept. to fight foreigners who \"meddle\" in U.S. elections",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/exclusive-hegseth-directs-defense-dept-to-fight-foreigners-who-meddle",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-28T19:48:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Axios",
    "slug": "axios",
    "url": "https://www.axios.com/2026/09/28/hegseth-elections-security-order"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Department of Defense to employ sophisticated intelligence and cyber resources to detect, impede, and counter foreign meddling in the forthcoming elections, according to sources cited by Axios. This matter is of significant concern as foreign election interference has been a recurring issue for the U.S. every two years over the past decade. Hegseth's decree leverages the most advanced artificial intelligence technologies available to date. While the order does not explicitly mandate military personnel to be present at voting stations, President Trump has not ruled out this possibility, which has caused unease among Democrats and administration critics.\n\nOn September 22, Hegseth issued a memo that has not been publicly reported before. This directive pledges to combat foreign interference and safeguard democratic principles. The memorandum comprises three interconnected directives: Utilizing the department's intelligence and cyber capabilities to ensure foreign entities do not interfere with our democratic processes under U.S. Cyber Command and the Combat Support Agencies; Leveraging the Defense Intelligence Enterprise to gather and disseminate data on foreign threats to our elections, in compliance with laws, regulations, and executive orders; and Countering potential cyber threats from foreign actors targeting our elections through collaborative operations between U.S. Cyber Command and the Department of Homeland Security.\n\nThe directive is rooted in Trump's 2025 order titled \"Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections\" and was also formulated in response to his July speech alleging China's involvement in the 2020 election, which China refuted. This memo from Hegseth builds upon a similar initiative undertaken before the 2022 midterms by his predecessor, Joe Biden, which tasked U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency with disrupting, deterring, and hindering foreign adversaries' efforts to interfere with and influence U.S. voter behavior and vote counting.\n\nThe federal government has been increasingly involved in identifying election threats originating from foreign governments since 2017, when elections were deemed critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland Security. Trump's selection to lead the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, Lieutenant General Joshua M. Rudd, assured senators during his confirmation hearing that such work was essential and that he would continue to safeguard American democracy. However, Trump's administration has reduced these efforts ahead of the midterms, proposing to cut the election security budget for the primary DHS entity responsible, CISA, and delaying staffing at other critical posts.\n\nSince Trump's defeat in 2020, Trump loyalists have circulated a memo requesting the president to utilize Defense Department's and NSA's unprocessed raw signals data to investigate potential election fraud, according to the Washington Post. The officials mentioned in the memo and asked to act on it denied having seen it at the time. Trump inquired about ordering the National Guard to confiscate voting machines at the time and, earlier this year, expressed remorse to the New York Times for not doing so. Six years later, Trump has already employed federal officials to seek evidence of election fraud. In January, the FBI seized voter machines from Fulton County, Georgia, a predominantly Democratic-leaning county in a state Trump lost in 2020. The Justice Department has formally requested 30 state election offices to retain records related to the 2024 election as part of ongoing litigation to review election materials. The latest memo from Hegseth does not direct the National Guard or any military personnel to seize voting machines.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}