The administration’s response to Russia’s recent spate of stateside hacking will be “proportional” and without warning, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday.
Earnest spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to North Carolina.
{mosads}On Friday, the administration formally announced that Russia was behind the data breaches at the Democratic National Committee and Democratic National Campaign Committee.
“The president has talked before about the significant capabilities that the U.S. government has to both defend our systems in the United States but also carry out offensive operations in other countries,” said Earnest.
“There are a range of responses that are available to the president and he will consider a response that is proportional,” he said.
Earnest implied that the United State’s counter-punch would not be deliberated in public.
“It is unlikely that our response would be announced in advance,” he said.
In a joint press release on Friday, the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Homeland Security said the two agencies were “confident” that recent leaked emails and other documents were spearheaded by Russian Intelligence agencies. It went on to state that “only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.”
Hours after DNI and DHS released their statement, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for a swift, decisive response.
“Vladimir Putin’s regime has crossed a line, and he should know that the United States will not allow our political process or our future to be dictated by foreign adversaries,” said House Homeland Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) in a Friday night release.
Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity, announced he would introduce legislation for “sweeping” sanctions against Russia.
This story was updated at 4:43 p.m.