ASD’s Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt was interviewed in the Washington Post upon the news of the appointment of Shelby Pierson as overseer of intelligence related to election security. Brandt said:
“It’s one of the most encouraging signs I’ve seen, not least because it will help raise the level of coordination on this issue. But what we really need is someone to synchronize efforts across the entire government, not just across the intelligence community. The White House should appoint a senior-level Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator at the National Security Council to look at the whole picture – not just threats emanating from Russia and tied to elections, but the full range of tools foreign governments use to interfere in our democracy. That person would be responsible for identifying gaps, seams, and vulnerabilities and then closing them. We’ve not seen any indication from the White House that such a move is being considered. It should be.”