The exchange underscores the frustration state election officials face as they gear up to try and protect elections from potential Russian interference this year. Top intelligence officials told Congress last week that Russia is already interfering in the 2018 midterm elections and held a classified briefing over the weekend for election officials across the country on electoral threats. Several legislative proposals to improve U.S. election security have stalled in Congress since the 2016 election. Unlike members of the intelligence community and his Cabinet, Trump has declined to issue a similarly clear warning about Russian interference. Many state election officials have expressed frustration that it took until September for the department to notify them if their systems had been targeted by Russians.

Source: Huffington Post February 19, 2018 21:35 UTC