Head of US cybersecurity agency says she hopes it keeps up election work under Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — Jen Easterly, the outgoing head of the U.S. government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said Wednesday she hopes her agency is allowed to continue its election-related work under new leadership despite “contentiousness” around that part of its mission.

“I really, really hope that we can continue to support those state and local election officials,” she said during an event in Washington, D.C., with the nonprofit Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “I think they’ve benefited by the resources that we’ve brought. I think they would say that.”

CISA is responsible for protecting critical infrastructure, including the nation’s dams, banks and nuclear power plants. Voting systems were added after the 2016 election and Russia’s multipronged election-meddling effort.

With the transition to a new administration under President-elect Donald Trump, several Republican lawmakers and right-wing advocacy groups have advocated to have CISA shuttered, gutted or have its election responsibilities significantly reduced.

Among the most vocal critics is GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who told Politico in November that he would like to eliminate the agency. He has spoken in the Senate about wanting to limit CISA’s powers instead of expanding them.

Easterly said she was proud of how CISA had built trust and close communications with state and local election officials of both major political parties since the agency began in 2018, under the first Trump administration.

She said CISA’s work with the intelligence community to quickly analyze and declassify foreign influence campaigns from Russia, China and Iran ahead of the 2024 presidential election was “incredibly successful.” The agency worked with state and local elections officials after foreign online disinformation surfaced in the weeks leading up to the November election. Those efforts included staged videos from Russian actors falsely portraying election fraud in swing counties.

“I think frankly we’re going to see more and more serious threats from our foreign adversaries, and we have to anticipate it and be able to deal with it as we did for the 2024 election,” Easterly said.

Trump created CISA during his first administration, but fired Chris Krebs, the agency director, after he said the 2020 election was safe and secure.

Trump has not yet nominated a replacement for Easterly. While Trump's campaign platform highlighted the importance of protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats, he hasn’t provided details of his vision for CISA's election work.

Easterly on Wednesday also spoke about the growing threat China poses to the nation’s critical infrastructure, among them water, transportation and telecommunications systems. She repeated past warnings that China is infiltrating civilian infrastructure and said the nation needs to be prepared for future disruptions.

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FILE - Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Jen Easterly speaks to The Associated Press in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis school system will offer families the option of remote learning for a month amid federal immigration enforcement in the city, the district said.

Under the temporary plan, teachers will simultaneously deliver lessons from their classrooms to students in the classroom and at home. The district provided the update late Thursday in an email to teachers that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The move comes as the Trump administration sends 2,000 immigration agents to the area and the community responds to the fatal shooting of a local woman earlier this week by a federal agent.

Immigration enforcement in cities across the U.S. has led to dips in school attendance, according to parents and educators. Advocates in other cities facing federal interventions have sought remote learning options, particularly for immigrant families that might feel vulnerable, but Minneapolis appears to be one of the few districts to reintroduce the option of pandemic-style virtual learning.

“This meets a really important need for our students who are not able to come to school right now,” a Minneapolis school administrator wrote in the email to staff.

The virtual learning option will be available through Feb. 12.

Minneapolis public schools were closed Thursday and Friday because of the tumult, but the district directed teachers to report to their school building to receive more details from administrators about the online instruction option. The district has not publicly provided details of the remote option.

In a statement Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Education said districts and charter schools can provide remote options for enrolled students.

“Plans for online instruction need to consider how the needs of all students can be met, including students with disabilities and students learning English,” Commissioner Willie Jett said.

The president of the Minnesota Federal of Teachers said on social media late Thursday that the union asked the district to consider offering remote learning.

“This is an OPTION and exactly what so many families need right now. MFE members brought this to MPS and MPS listened,” Marcia Howard wrote.

The union has been hearing worries from members and families who are concerned about sending children to school at time of heightened tensions over the immigration enforcement, said Natasha Dockter, first vice president of the union's teacher chapter.

Dockter said remote learning can be a challenge but educators will rise to the occasion to make it work.

“We’re in an emergency and our educators are going to do whatever they can to meet this moment in this emergency,” Dockter said.

Vázquez Toness reported from Boston.

Protesters sit on a barrier that is being assembled outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as demonstrators gather in Minneapolis, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Bettcher)

Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Adam Bettcher)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)