But it was like pulling teeth to get the White House to focus the attention needed on this." On Tuesday, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner downplayed Russian meddling efforts and suggested that US investigations into them were more harmful than the foreign interference. Nielsen's roleTwo administration officials offered conflicting views about Nielsen's determination to make election security a priority for the Trump administration. "Nielsen pushed the idea that election security is national security," the senior administration official said. The official also insisted the White House is determined to stop Russia from interfering in the 2020 election.

Source: CNN April 24, 2019 12:50 UTC