Schumer calls for briefing on 2020 election security after Mueller report

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling for the Trump administration to brief the Senate on what actions it is taking to prevent interference in the 2020 presidential election.

“The Senate should be briefed directly by leaders of the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and Cyber Command, in a classified space, on what, if any, actions are underway to protect the 2020 election cycle and whether additional authorities or resources are required,” Schumer wrote in a letter Tuesday to the Senate Democratic Caucus. “We need to ensure the leaders of these organizations have their voices heard.”

{mosads}His letter comes as lawmakers have their first chance after a two-week recess to discuss in person what steps they want to take in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Schumer, who predicted that Senate Democrats would have a “robust internal caucus discussion,” outlined “a few bipartisan actions” the upper chamber could start on, including the briefing, ahead of the 2020 election.

“The Trump Administration is not forcefully and adequately responding to the attack on our democracy outlined in the Mueller Report. The United States Senate can and should fill this vacuum with serious debate and action,” Schumer wrote.

Schumer is also calling on the Senate to pass additional Russia sanctions legislation and include additional money in government funding bills for carrying out elections and bolstering the country’s election infrastructure.

But any additional legislation potentially faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) previously introduced legislation that would impose penalties for future election interference, while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) rolled out the “sanctions bill from hell.” Neither cleared Congress in the lead up to the 2018 election.

Meanwhile, Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have offered election security legislation. But Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the chairman of the Rules Committee, has indicated he doesn’t believe additional legislation is needed.

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