CISA employees were unable to fulfill the request to hack a voting machine because the agents capable of doing so had been laid off by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 72%
Deadline: White HouseOct 20, 2026
ProPublica reports that CISA employees told political appointees the hacking request was impossible, in part because the agents capable of such an operation had just been laid off by DOGE, and that the request was not acted on. The claim drops the qualifier "in part" but otherwise matches the reporting; independent 2025 reports corroborate that DOGE cut CISA red-team staff.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… The White House didn't answer Pro publica's questions about the hack. And in a twist of irony, Pro publica reports this, quote, "The CISA employees repeatedly told the political appointees that their request was impossible, in part because the agents capable of pulling off such an operation had just been laid off by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative." So because of Trump destroyed the government through Elon Musk's Dog, she couldn't hack voting machines, even though the request was not ultimately fulfilled. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. ProPublica (Oct 2026) reports CISA employees repeatedly told the political appointees the request was impossible, in part because the capable agents had just been laid off by DOGE, and the request was not acted on.[1]
Supports. Independent 2025 reporting from Bloomberg, TechCrunch and Infosecurity Magazine documents DOGE-driven firings of CISA red-team and cybersecurity staff, supporting the layoff premise.[2][3][4]
Context. Raw Story and Truthout repeat the ProPublica account, so they add no independent confirmation of the claim.[5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 tier 2, 3 not rated, 1 tier 3
- 1Trump Appointees Asked a Federal Cybersecurity Agency to Secretly Acquire a Voting Machine — and Hack Itpropublica.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 2DHS Workers Tasked With Curbing Hacks Ousted in DOGE Squeezebloomberg.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3DOGE axes CISA ‘red team’ staffers amid ongoing federal cuts | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Trump Administration Shakes Up CISA with Staff and Funding Cutsinfosecurity-magazine.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Officials fear cybersecurity agency meant to protect US ...rawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: context
- 6Trump Appointees Asked a Federal Cybersecurity Agency ...truthout.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) attempted to acquire a voting machine but was blocked by internal opposition within the Department of Homeland Security.True
- The current administration fired everyone at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in February and March of 2025.False
- Political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security requested that CISA secretly acquire and hack a voting machine at the beginning of President Trump's second term.True
- Political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security requested that the agency secretly acquire and hack a voting machine a few months into President Donald Trump’s second term.True
- A report claims that political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security requested that cybersecurity agents secretly acquire and hack a voting machine.True