Trump fires cybersecurity director who said election was most secure in US history

President Donald Trump fired the director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who called the 2020 election the most secure in U.S. history.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that Chris Krebs was “terminated” effective immediately, citing his statement about the accuracy of the election results. The president included false statements about widespread fraud and problems in the ballot counting that Twitter immediately flagged as disputed.

Krebs contradicted Trump’s inaccurate claims of a “rigged” election in a statement on Nov. 12 as the president continued to fight results that pointed to former Vice President Joe Biden as the winner.

“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history,” the agency’s statement said. “Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result.”

Krebs stood by the assertion in a response to the firing shortly after Trump’s tweets.

“Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomrorow. #Protect2020,” Krebs tweeted.

It seemed only a matter of time before Krebs, a former Microsoft executive, would be out of a job, The New York Times reported after the statement was released.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Trump fires cybersecurity director who said election was most secure in US history."