March 21, 2018

Manchin Questions Secretary of Homeland Security About Election Security

Washington, D.C. – During today’s Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) questioned U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about the interference the Russian government played in the 2016 election, what the U.S. government has done to deter future interference and the role the federal government can play to support the security of state and local voting systems.

“As a result of Russian’s meddling in the 2016 election, I fought to ensure the bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee included a directive for DHS to provide technical assistance to state and local law enforcement to secure networks against cyber-attacks. If our own federal Department of Homeland Security has trouble finding a reliable vendor, wouldn’t you think our cash strapped states and local governments would have the same problems?” Senator Manchin asked.

To watch a video of Senator Manchin’s questioning of Secretary Nielsen and former Secretary Johnson, please click here.

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