The shutdown has stalled some of DHS’s more anticipatory work, like vulnerability assessments of critical systems and election-security initiatives.

Much of the hearing focused on the increasingly close relationship between DHS and the state and local offices that run elections.

Former Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson told a Congressional panel "the integrity of our election outcomes on a national level dances on the head of a pin."

Eventually "33 states and 36 cities and counties" used DHS tools to scan for vulnerabilities or ask for advice by election day 2016.

The decision will come as a shock to many state and local officials who expected it would be overturned.

The probe follows calls for an investigation from congressional critics of DHS' election cybersecurity efforts.

The controversial decision by the Department of Homeland Security to designate the nation's election system as "critical infrastructure" has touched off a firestorm of opposition, and the…