Democratic Representative Jim Himes spoke on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” about foreign threats ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Himes said the US intelligence community has assessed that no adversary has interfered or attempted to interfere with election infrastructure or vote counting.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said intelligence officials have found no foreign tampering with voting systems so far while warning that foreign governments could still try to influence voters or economic conditions.
He emphasized the importance of understanding the difference between interference and influence in elections. Interference involves tampering with voting systems or tallies, while influence occurs through other means such as propaganda or misinformation campaigns.
Himes said he wanted voters to know the intelligence assessment in case President Trump later claims that a foreign government manipulated voting machinery.
Himes pointed to Trump’s history of disputing election results and cited his comments after the 2016 election. Trump won the Electoral College in 2016 but lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. Trump later claimed without evidence that he would have won the popular vote if millions of illegal votes were removed.
Himes confirmed he received assurances from intelligence officials that they would provide him with information about election threats. However, he expressed uncertainty about the credibility of those assurances.
Himes also discussed Iran and the effect the conflict could have on the midterms. He argued that Iran has endured months of US and Israeli military attacks despite damage to its military forces.
He suggested Iran could use attacks on energy shipping to affect oil and fuel prices before Election Day.
Himes said Iran could attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz or encourage Houthi attacks on ships. He argued that a resulting rise in energy prices could affect voter attitudes and individual congressional races.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes. Recent disruption in the region has contributed to concerns about oil supplies and higher fuel prices.
Himes also addressed recent US-China diplomatic efforts involving artificial intelligence. The White House said the two countries would establish a bilateral communications channel for AI-related incidents.
US and Chinese officials had already agreed to continue talks on AI safety and emergency communication procedures before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington. Himes described continued communication between the two governments as useful for limiting misunderstandings.
The discussion highlighted concerns about both direct attacks on election systems and broader foreign efforts that could affect the political environment.
IMAGE: Portrait picture of Connecticut 4th Congressional District Congressman-Elect Jim Himes. Photo taken at Himes Campaign Victory Party on Election Day, November 4th 2008. Photo: Apollo2011 / Wikimedia, taken 2008-11-12, CC BY-SA 3.0