Trump DHS Names Election-Fraud Proponent Honey to New Integrity Post

Heather Honey, a Pennsylvania-based private investigator whose analyses of voter data were cited by Donald Trump during his bid to overturn the 2020 election results, has been appointed deputy assistant secretary for election integrity in the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans. An organisational chart dated 18 August lists the post, which did not exist under President Joe Biden, and two people familiar with the hiring said Honey started work last week. State election officials and voting-security experts criticised the move, noting Honey’s history of reports that were later debunked by courts and auditors in Pennsylvania and Arizona. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes called the appointment “deeply troubling,” while David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research warned it could undermine trust between states and the federal government. The role is expected to give Honey access to classified election-security intelligence and a voice in drafting executive orders and other federal policies. The appointment comes as the second Trump administration dismantles several programmes created after foreign interference in 2016, cutting hundreds of staff at CISA and threatening to withhold about $28 million in homeland-security grants unless states change voting rules. Critics say the addition of Honey, coupled with those cuts, signals a shift toward amplifying election-fraud claims rather than countering them; supporters portray her as an experienced investigator who will tighten election safeguards. DHS declined to comment on Honey’s duties, and neither she nor the White House responded to requests for comment.