(CNN) President Donald Trump must support the efforts of the national security apparatus to combat Russian cyberattacks with strong public rhetoric, a Democratic member of the House Armed Services committee said Thursday.

Trump's national security and intelligence officials announced at a White House news briefing Thursday that the Trump administration is taking unified steps to combat election interference and other cyberattacks, particularly from Russia.

Following the briefing, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, said Trump must back up these actions by taking a strong public position against Russia.

"Trump needs to actually follow up with actual words and rhetoric," Gallego told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room."

Gallego said he hopes Trump is privately working to push back against Russian cyberattacks by authorizing his national security team to combat them but "he needs to match his actions publicly too" because "the Russians ... only understand power, and power projected by the head of government."

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