Ex-DHS chief wanted cabinet-level election threat meetings, White House refused: Officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

In recent months before resigning from her position, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was prevented from convening senior cabinet meetings at the White House on potential future Russian interference in the upcoming 2020 U.S. elections, two senior administration officials familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Nielsen, whose department is charged with defending U.S. infrastructure including elections against cyber attacks, had been sounding the alarm publicly before the 2018 midterms. After the midterms, she pushed for the White House to convene a cabinet meeting to address the issue head-on, but the White House "refused," according to one of the officials, forcing DHS to start convening meetings with principals on its own.

Nielsen was also told by White House staff the issue did not need to be brought to Trump’s attention, according to the official.

"The White House didn’t want to focus on the issue at a principals level, period," the official told ABC News.

(MORE: After Mueller report exposed Russian interference 'roadmap,' is US ready for 2020?)

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the Oval Office, April 2, 2019, in Washington D.C. (Evan Vucci/AP) More

The last in-person principal-level cabinet meetings on the issue occurred before the November 2018 midterm elections, and since then there have been none, according to three senior administration officials. One said there have been smaller discussions about the topic among top national security officials.

“We are far, far better prepared than we were in 2016, but we are still way behind where our adversaries are. It’s clear the administration hasn’t made foreign interference a high enough priority. That’s a feeling felt throughout the interagency," one of the officials said.

The New York Times first reported on Wednesday White House pushback to Nielsen’s efforts. The Times reported that acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Nielsen specifically not to bring it up to the President, reportedly telling her it “wasn’t a great subject and should be kept below his level.”

In a statement to ABC News, Mulvaney said, “I don’t recall anything along those lines happening in any meeting, but unlike the Obama administration, who knew about Russian actions in 2014 and did nothing, the Trump administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections, and we’ve already taken many steps to prevent it in the future.”

The Obama administration did take some action against Russian election interference including private warnings and sanctions.

(MORE: Despite doubts, Trump administration insists Russian meddling will be countered)

PHOTO: Voters cast their ballots aat a polling location in Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 8, 2016. (John Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty Images) More

A spokesperson for the DHS did not respond to a request for comment. Nielsen resigned earlier this month. Garrett Marquis, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement, “National Security Council staff leads the regular and continuous coordination of the whole-of-government approach to addressing foreign malign influence and ensuring election security.

“Any suggestion that this Administration is giving less than full-throated effort to secure America’s elections is patently false,” he said.

The redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s 448-page report sent to Congress last week laid out both what he described as Russia’s “sweeping and systematic” effort to interfere with the 2016 presidential election, as well as Trump’s concern that acknowledgment of that interference could undercut his electoral victory.

Story continues