Trump fires top cybersecurity official who debunked voter fraud claims


President Trump tweeted on Tuesday evening that he has fired Christopher Krebs, the head of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who has been debunking conspiracy theories about voter fraud since Election Day.
Trump has been spreading multiple baseless claims about the election, including that it was "rigged" by Democrats and there was mass voting by dead people. In his tweet about Krebs, Trump claimed that it was "inaccurate" for Krebs to say the election was secure, and "therefore, effective immediately," Krebs has been terminated. Last week, Krebs told people close to him that due to his efforts to debunk disinformation, he believed he would soon be fired, Reuters reports.
Last week, top cybersecurity officials with the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council Executive Committee and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council released a joint statement saying there is "no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised." In fact, they declared, the 2020 presidential election was "the most secure in American history."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?
The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate branding
In the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across Pacific
Speed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resigns
Speed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodge
Speed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floods
Speed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star program
speed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
US proposes eroding species protections
Speed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Severe storms kill dozens across central US
Speed Read At least 40 people were killed over the weekend by tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslides
Speed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides