Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has directed the Pentagon's intelligence agencies to prioritize countering foreign interference in the 2026 midterm elections, extending the assignment across the military's intelligence network. Issued in September, the order describes election security as a "no-fail mission" as Americans prepare to vote on Tuesday.
The directive covers U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, along with the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. It calls for agencies to gather and assess intelligence about foreign election threats and directs Cyber Command to counter potential foreign cyber activity using existing authorities, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
How much the order has altered Pentagon operations remains uncertain. It does not publicly confer additional powers or create a new election-security organization. The Department of War declined to give Fox News Digital further implementation details, and Cyber Command declined an interview request. The Pentagon has not disclosed whether the directive brought additional staffing, resources or organizational changes.
Military intelligence work on election security can involve locating foreign hackers and influence campaigns overseas, alerting civilian agencies to approaching threats and, when authorized, conducting cyber operations against foreign actors or their infrastructure. That responsibility centers on activity outside the United States. State and local authorities administer elections, while the FBI, Homeland Security and other civilian agencies handle domestic security efforts.
The military's election-security operations predate Hegseth's order. Before the 2018 midterms, Cyber Command and NSA established a Russia Small Group to address interference. That effort developed into a joint Election Security Group, pairing intelligence collection with operations against foreign cyber threats. Gen. Paul Nakasone, who led both agencies in 2022, called election security an "enduring, no-fail mission" that year.
Another Election Security Group was established for the 2024 presidential election, although its status for the current midterms has been less clear. In April, Gen. Joshua Rudd, the current Cyber Command and NSA chief, told lawmakers that past experience made foreign interference reasonable to expect. He said the command was ready to support assigned efforts but was unsure whether the group had been reconvened.
U.S. intelligence officials say they have found no evidence of foreign attempts to interfere with voting machines, physical election infrastructure or vote counting ahead of Tuesday's election. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the House Intelligence Committee's ranking Democrat, said last week that officials continued to see nothing contradicting that assessment. He nevertheless urged vigilance against foreign disinformation, particularly as artificial intelligence makes it easier to spread.
Foreign influence campaigns remain under scrutiny. CNN reported Sunday that officials were tracking efforts by Russia, China and Iran, with Russia the most active foreign influence threat. Lawmakers briefed on classified intelligence last month said Russian disinformation was targeting candidates and confidence in the election, while Chinese efforts focused more narrowly on candidates considered hostile to Beijing.
