US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked two votes on election security laws on Thursday, in spite of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s warning of ongoing Russian interference the day before.

Mr McConnell shot down Democratic requests to pass one bill authorising $775m (£623m) to beef up state election systems, and another requiring political candidates, their families and campaigners to report offers of help from foreign countries to the FBI.

On the same day, a Senate Intelligence committee report concluded voting systems in all 50 states were targeted in 2016 and that “top election vulnerabilities remained”.

State election officials are reportedly anxious and underfunded, some relying upon systems with outdated software and scrounging for replacement parts from eBay, but there appears to be no help coming from Congress.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who raised the first vote, called inaction by Congress a “disgrace” and pledged to keep pushing for reforms and funding. Mr Mueller’s testimony “should be a wake-up call”, he said.

Mueller investigation: The key figures Show all 12 1 /12 Mueller investigation: The key figures Mueller investigation: The key figures Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led. REUTERS Mueller investigation: The key figures Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt". AFP/Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public. EPA Mueller investigation: The key figures Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes — in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact. REUTERS

GOP leaders made the case that the Trump administration has already made great strides in protecting the vote and argued that no more funding is needed.

It is a risky calculation heading into 2020, when the stakes will be high for an election that could see record turnout as Donald Trump runs for a second term. Primary voting is six months away.

Thursday’s intelligence report warned “more money will be needed” and encouraged states to ”take urgent steps to replace outdated and vulnerable voting systems”.

The House is pushing other bills targeting fake ads and cyber intrusions, while Congress has already unanimously approved one bipartisan measure making interference in elections a violation of immigration law, and another making it a federal crime to hack elections systems.

But Democrats – and some Republicans – say Congress must do more.

The most pressing issue is replacing electronic voting machines that do not produce a paper record of each ballot cast that is verified by the voter and can later be audited.

In 2018, 10 states had more than half of their jurisdictions using machines without a paper trail, which cybersecurity experts have warned are vulnerable to hacking and must be replaced.

Even if Congress were immediately to send funds to states to replace voting equipment, it would be difficult to make substantial upgrades in time for the 2020 elections. It can take months to decide on replacement machines, develop security protocols, train workers and test the equipment.

Trump ordered former White House counsel to lie, Mueller confirms

However, Mr McConnell dismissed the bill to allocate more funds and shore up voting systems on Thursday as “not a serious effort”, in that it came from Democrats who spent the past two years “hyping” Mr Mueller’s investigation.

It wasn’t the first time McConnell had put the brakes on election security efforts.

In 2018, the Kentucky Republican halted a bipartisan effort to improve state election systems, which would have required all states to conduct post-election audits and to use paper ballots as a backup to electronic systems in order to qualify for federal funding.

Part of the problem is longstanding tensions between states and the federal government over election systems that are only beginning to smooth.

State officials historically run elections and many, particularly those in the South, are wary about federal intervention. Tensions flared ahead of the 2016 election when federal officials warning of potential interference wanted to declare election systems as critical infrastructure. Some states resisted.

In an acknowledgement of those tensions, Mr McConnell said any efforts must be done with “extreme care and on a thoroughly bipartisan basis”.

But time to act is in short supply. Underscoring the urgency of the matter, minority leader Chuck Schumer read Mr Mueller’s Wednesday testimony aloud to his Republican counterpart.

“They’re doing it as we sit here, and they expect to do it in the next campaign.”