Election-Security Briefing for Congress Is Postponed

A briefing for members of Congress on election security has been postponed, The Daily Beast has learned. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had initially organized the briefing, which would feature Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, FBI Director Chris Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. A spokeswoman for Ryan said the briefing is being rescheduled, likely to next week, because of scheduling and logistical issues. The briefing was supposed to be unclassified. But some members argued that this would be pointless. A spokesperson for Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said they hope the briefing will ultimately be classified so that officials can get into detail on the threats facing the American electoral system. The next federal elections are taking place in less than six months. —Betsy Woodruff and Andrew Desiderio