President Trump met with top administration officials Thursday to discuss election security and efforts to protect against foreign influence, the White House said.
Among the meeting’s attendees were Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, White House chief of staff John Kelly, national security adviser John Bolton, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The White House said the president was updated on current federal election security related efforts, “including information sharing and best practices like using paper ballots, issuing security clearances, and conducting security assessments.”
The president also reiterated his belief that “election security is national security,” the White House said. The Trump administration, meanwhile, plans to continue providing necessary support to state and local governments to ensure their election processes are secure.
The meeting comes as special counsel Robert Mueller is continuing his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which thus far has led to indictments of 13 Russians and three Russian companies.
Russia’s efforts to influence the last election, as well as revelations the Russians attempted to breach the election systems of 21 states, have led to worries from Coats and others that Russia will likely try to meddle in the midterms.
In an effort to protect states’ election infrastructure, Congress in March included in its omnibus spending bill $380 million in election security grant funding to states.
During the meeting Thursday, the White House said the Trump administration is focused on working alongside state and local election officials to safeguard Americans’ votes.
