Rex Tillerson reportedly squandered over $60 million that he was offered to counter Russian election meddling

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly didn't use $60 million that Congress authorized for transfer from the Pentagon to the State Department in order to fight Russian influence.
In sum, the State Department spent a whole year trying to decide how to use Defense Department funds, and in the end only secured a third of all the potentially available money.
Intelligence veterans agree that not enough is being done by President Donald Trump and other leaders like Tillerson to combat Russian interference, which will likely continue to take place in future US elections.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was offered $60 million by Congress from Defense Department funds last year to fight Russian election interference efforts — but after Tillerson waited for seven months trying to decide whether he wanted to spend it or not, the offer was withdrawn, and none of the money was used, according to The New York Times.

A similar scenario played out during the 2018 fiscal year, The Times reported, in which another $60 million became available. This time, after another five months of back-and-forth, Tillerson's State Department was finally given $40 million to counter Russian efforts, a mere third of a potential total of $120 million the department could have used to match the threat.

The initial $60 million sum was directed for transfer to the State Department under former President Barack Obama during the 2017 fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2016. The State Department will receive the $40 million sum in April of this year, The Times reported.

Every intelligence agency that investigated the matter concluded by early 2017 that the Russian government had purposefully interfered in the 2016 US elections. And yet over a year since the election meddling took place, little has been done to counter efforts by Russia to intervene in future elections that are already underway.

At the State Department, the division that has been tasked with addressing Russian social media influence, the

Tillerson admitted last month that the US was woefully underprepared for future Russian interference efforts.

"successfully penetrated" some voting systems in the US. Seven states reported that their systems were hacked by Russians, according to Reuters, but the Department of Homeland Security has disputed these claims.

The original version of this article stated that the Defense Department offered its own funds to the State Department. It also stated that the Global Engagement Center did not have anyone who spoke Russian. Corrections were made to reflect that the Center does have Russian speakers, and that Congress authorized the transfter of Defense Department funds.

Rex Tillerson reportedly squandered over $60 million that he was offered to counter Russian election meddling

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