‘I don’t trust you’: Tensions boil over on Trump administration’s election security call

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told CISA officials 'I don't trust you' during a Monday call meant to brief states on election security ahead of November's midterms, according to participants. CISA, which once provided classified threat briefings and equipment testing to states, has had no permanent director since Trump's second term began and has cut staff, while the administration has threatened to arrest election officials over noncitizen voting and threatened to withhold funds from states resisting its election overhaul proposals.

Participants said CISA leaders offered a generic briefing focused more on 2028 than the election less than 90 days away, with no concrete support offered for November. Minnesota's Steve Simon said states are 'almost entirely on their own this election cycle,' while Washington's Steve Hobbs called the call a tentative 'positive step' that still needs to be followed by sustained federal commitment rather than election-season attention alone.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.