Trump Administration Halts Funding For Two Cybersecurity Efforts, Including One For Elections

The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency , known as CISA, has ended about 10 million in annual funding to the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, a CISA spokesperson said in an email Monday.

It's the latest move by Trump administration officials to rein in the federal government's role in election security , which has prompted concerns about an erosion of guardrails to prevent foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

CISA announced a few weeks ago that it was conducting a review of its election-related work, and more than a dozen staffers who have worked on elections were placed on administrative leave . That followed an administration move to disband an FBI task force focused on investigating foreign influence operations, including those that target U.S. elections.

"I have grave concern for state and local election officials and for the security of our elections going forward," said Larry Norden, an election security expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU's School of Law.