Hegseth Midterm Elections Memo Orders Cyber Defense of Vote

WASHINGTON — A Hegseth midterm elections memo directing the US military to defend the November midterm elections from foreign interference was made public Monday, with the Pentagon describing the mission as a top priority roughly five weeks before Election Day.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed the directive, titled “Countering Foreign Threats to 2026 Elections,” on September 22; it was released publicly on September 28, CNN reported.

Hegseth Midterm Elections Memo: What It Orders

According to the Pentagon’s announcement and reporting by CNN and The Hill, the one-page memo contains three core instructions:

• Cyber Command and combat support agencies will “prioritize the use of” Defense Department intelligence and cyber capabilities to “ensure foreign actors do not meddle in our democratic systems,” and will “deploy advanced intelligence and cyber capabilities” to “identify, disrupt, and neutralize foreign interference in US democratic processes.”
• The Defense Intelligence Enterprise is directed to collect and produce intelligence on foreign threats to US elections “in accordance with the law, regulation, Executive direction” and departmental policy.
• Gen. Joshua Rudd, head of US Cyber Command, is instructed to use existing capabilities and authorities in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security to counter “potential cyber threats from foreign actors targeting our elections.”

“Our Nation’s ability to conduct free and fair elections is a steadfast principal of our Democracy,” Hegseth wrote in the memo, as quoted by The Hill. “Assuring and protecting this ability is a no-fail mission and the DoW will do its part in supporting this whole of government effort.”

A Routine Mission in a Charged Context

On its face, the directive mirrors what the military has done in every recent election cycle. Weeks before the 2024 presidential election, for example, Cyber Command hackers carried out a secret operation to disrupt Russian trolls spreading false information to US voters, CNN previously reported. Ahead of the 2018 midterms, the military reportedly disrupted internet access at Russia’s Internet Research Agency.

But the Hegseth midterm elections memo arrives in a far more charged political context. As CNN noted, the second Trump administration has disbanded or downsized several government centers — including within the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — that were tasked with repelling foreign influence operations. Trump has also continued to dismiss or question past US intelligence findings about Russian and Chinese election-influence efforts.

Those moves prompted widespread concern among current and former national security officials that the administration was not prioritizing election defense — concerns heightened in April when Gen. Rudd told lawmakers he did not know whether a specialized military and intelligence team dedicated to thwarting foreign threats to the elections had been stood up for the midterms.

Senators Demand Assurances

The order has already prompted pointed questions on Capitol Hill. According to The Diplomatic Affairs, senators have demanded assurances that troops will not be sent to polling places — a reflection of the sensitivities around military involvement in domestic elections.

The memo itself does not identify any particular country behind an ongoing interference attempt, CNN reported. Russia, China, and Iran have all previously been accused by US intelligence agencies of trying to influence American politics through cyber operations and disinformation campaigns, according to Geo TV.

The Pentagon’s role would focus largely on threats originating outside the United States, while the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security retain primary responsibility for election security at home.

What’s at Stake on November 3

Americans head to the polls on November 3 to decide control of Congress, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats up for election, according to Geo TV. The memo’s release comes amid a broader administration posture that has emphasized competitiveness and deregulation — a contrast some analysts say makes the Pentagon’s “no-fail mission” language all the more notable.

A similar election-security push was highlighted by the NSA and US Cyber Command under former President Biden ahead of the 2022 midterms, The Hill noted, making this week’s directive the latest chapter in a bipartisan pattern: every administration since 2016 has tasked the military’s cyber forces with keeping foreign hands off the vote.

Whether this iteration meaningfully changes the government’s election-defense posture — or simply formalizes capabilities that were already in motion — will become clearer as November approaches and the Pentagon’s coordination with DHS takes shape.