Lawmakers urge Trump to counter Russian information warfare

A bipartisan team of influential lawmakers from the House Armed Services Committee has sent a letter to President Trump urging him to fully resource State Department activities aimed at protecting the United States from information warfare attacks stemming from Russia and non-state terror groups.

The lawmakers include House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), the committee's ranking member, Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chairwoman of the emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee, and James Langevin (D-RI), the subcommittee's ranking member.

At issue is $60 million the Defense Department has, at the behest of Congress, made available to the State Department's Global Engagement Center to counter information operations.

The lawmakers note that Trump has yet to name a director for the GEC and the State Department has yet to spend the money that has been made available.

"We are therefore disappointed that to date your administration has not provided adequate resources, including funding and personnel, to the GEC to carry out its mission and, furthermore, that you have not yet appointed a director to lead the agency in this endeavor," the letter states.

Adm. Mike Rogers, the chief of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, made headlines last month when he told senators he has received no direction from the White House to combat possible Russian efforts to disrupt future U.S. elections.

Efforts to counter Russian information operations in the United States have become highly politicized as Republicans and Democrats continue to spar over whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian intelligence operatives.

Meanwhile, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is conducting an independent investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and has indicted former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.