WA Secretary of State warns that federal gutting of cybersecurity agency puts elections at risk

TACOMA – Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs sounded the alarm Wednesday that recent actions by the Trump administration are putting the state’s election security at risk.

Hobbs’ warning comes after at least 17 employees at the federal government’s cybersecurity agency have been placed on administrative leave, per media reports.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) employees worked with election officials to offer trainings and assessments on topics such as the safety of election workers and cyber- and ransomware attacks. They also fought back against election disinformation.

Now Hobbs, who met with the news media Wednesday, is flagging potential threats to election security in Washington and elsewhere nationwide. He’s asking the state Legislature to figure out ways to continue funding critical programs and voter-education outreach amid the uncertainty.

Funding to CISA could reportedly soon see cuts. The agency’s abrupt shakeups have left many “deeply concerned” about what to expect moving forward on combating election disinformation, Hobbs said in a Wednesday letter to the state’s congressional delegation.

CISA helped Washington defend against previous election-related threats, Hobbs told reporters. He cited past incidents, including when white powder was sent to election offices and a ballot drop box in Vancouver was set ablaze.

“If the funding is cut off, people are going to start not trusting our elections again,” Hobbs said. “This is what overseas actors want. This is what our adversaries want. They want Republicans and Democrats, they want Americans, to tear each other apart – to take their eye off the ball while they do their national security goals.”

Federal funding through an agreement with a CISA-administered nonprofit provides cybersecurity resources and tools at significantly reduced rates to state, local, tribal and territorial governments, according to an SOS fact sheet. Costs run about a third of the normal price. Washington saves more than $5 million annually on such tools.

If federal support evaporates, some $6.4 million would be needed to sustain the Washington Office of the Secretary of State’s current programming.

In 2024, Hobbs’ office launched the “Mark the Ballot” campaign, which he said translated to a 36% increase in trust in state-government fairness, plus a 12% bump in confidence in elected officials.

“Cutting funding to these efforts now threatens to undo the progress we’ve made,” Hobbs said.

House Speaker Laurie Jinkins told McClatchy Wednesday that lawmakers are open to hearing suggestions from Hobbs on legislation that could be helpful. The Tacoma Democrat referenced other concerns about sweeping cuts and layoffs under Trump, including at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“There’s a lot of things that are happening in Washington, D.C., that are going to put a lot of things in danger,” Jinkins said at a media availability. “And we’ve seen that happen every single day almost in his less than one month being president.”