Following Trump’s meeting last week with the National Security Council, national security adviser, John Bolton, has actively taken to the pen and the podium, announcing what steps the current administration has taken to advance election security and defend against cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure.
In a 2 August letter responding to the letter he received from five senators critical of Trump's response to Russia, Bolton expressed his pleasure at having the chance to explain the “extensive, historic actions the Trump Administration has already taken to ensure the integrity of our elections and to defend against foreign malign influence.”
Referring to Trump’s efforts as unprecedented, Bolton went on to write that the actions Trump has taken, which include sanctions, the closure of Russian consulates and banning the use of Kaspersky Lab software because of its ties with Russian intelligence, “will also deter Russia and other adversaries from attempting to disrupt American elections.”
Then at yesterday’s White House press conference Bolton tried to impress upon the fact that members of the administration meet frequently to discuss cybersecurity, particularly as it pertains to election security. Bolton said, "In my tenure as National Security Advisor – less than two months – we've already had two full National Security Council meetings chaired by the President and, as I say, countless other discussions as well."
“Since January 2017, the President has taken decisive action to defend our election systems from meddling and interference,” he continued.
His affirmation reiterated the words of Vice President Mike Pence, who said at the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Summit in New York City, “We’ve already done more than any administration in history to protect the ballot box, and we’ve barely just begun."
Bolton went on to explain that Trump’s decisive actions include “measures to heighten the security and resilience of election systems and processes, to confront Russian and other foreign malign influence in the United States, to confront such aggression through international action and to reinforce a strong sanctions regime.”
Many of the actions remain classified so as not to publicly disclose information that could potentially benefit adversaries, though the administration has offered to share that classified information with Congress.