Senator Lankford Responds to President Trump’s Executive Order to Address Meddling in US Elections

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today applauded President Trump’s Executive Order in response to foreign interference in US elections. The Executive Order would further define election infrastructure and foreign interference, direct the Executive Branch to develop additional processes for assessing and determining interference in a US election, and mandate interagency reporting of potential foreign interference following a federal election.

“This is another step to strengthen US elections so every American can trust the results of their vote,” said Lankford. “President Trump’s Executive Order will help protect our election infrastructure through the ability to sanction those that try to interfere, but Congress also needs to act. Election security is not a partisan issue; it is a democracy issue. I urge my colleagues to quickly pass the Secure Elections Act in the days ahead to build on this Executive Order. While sanction authority is a positive step in the right direction, we still need to ensure that our election systems are secure.”

Lankford introduced the Secure Elections Act in December 2017 then later introduced a revised version of the bill in March 2018. In August, Lankford spoke on the Senate floor to urge the Senate to pass his bipartisan bill, which streamlines cybersecurity information-sharing between federal intelligence entities and state election agencies, provides security clearances to state election officials, and provides support for state election cybersecurity infrastructure. Lankford also released a podcast, which breaks down the purpose of the Secure Election Act.

Lankford also testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism hearing entitled “Cyber Threats to Our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure.” During the hearing, Lankford outlined why it is important to pass a congressional response immediately.

###