Supporters of the bill, primarily Democrats, say that while most Americans know foreign governments have no business in U.S. elections, investigations and whistleblower accounts have detailed extensive communications between the Trump campaign and foreign governments. They note that the president himself has solicited foreign interference in the 2020 election by publicly calling on China and Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, and by saying in a television interview he would accept foreign assistance before the next election. Consequently, they say legislation is needed to protect our elections from foreign interference, including by closing loopholes that allow such interference, increasing disclosure and transparency requirements, and ensuring that campaigns contacted by foreign interests are held to account.

Opponents of the bill, primarily Republicans, say that foreign interference in U.S. elections is already illegal and that further legislation is not necessary. They argue that the bill pushes aside sincere efforts at finding bipartisan solutions to those problems that do exist in favor of partisan policies. It unwisely expands the powers of the attorney general in having him decide what is and what is not factual with regard to information provided to voters, they say, arguing that the measure's reporting requirements would have a "chilling effect on free speech." The bill, they say, simply represents another attempt by Democrats to revive the Mueller report and relitigate the 2016 presidential election, rather than providing the resources needed to counter foreign influence campaigns or protect election infrastructure ahead of the 2020 election.