Washington (CNN) The US government should "raise the cost" against Russia for meddling in the 2016 election, a high-level Department of Justice elections official told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Adam Hickey, the deputy assistant attorney general of the department's National Security Division, was responding to a question from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, about Russian election interference and whether the country should "pay a price" in order to deter future attacks.

"I think you have to raise the cost of the behavior, correct, senator," Hickey responded.

Hickey also told Blumenthal the US needed to respond with more force against Russia over the election interference.

"It warrants a strong response," he said during the hearing. "I think in this area and others we have to find ways to raise costs of malicious and malign behavior by foreign states."

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