The Trump administration is facing renewed scrutiny from Congress and other officials following reports that massive job cuts are coming to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as early as this week.
CISA is expected to slash up to 1,300 jobs through a combination of terminations and other incentives, according to a report by CBS News. The agency is expected to initially offer buyouts, according to Axios, but later expand the list to send out “reduction in force” notices depending on how many workers accept buyouts.
The administration has come under heavy criticism by national security and cyber industry analysts in recent months, who warned additional cuts at CISA will severely weaken the U.S. at a time of heightened nation-state threats from China and Russia.
"The proposed reductions to CISA will weaken U.S. cybersecurity at a time when cyber threats are only increasing,” Michael Daniel, president and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance, said via email.
“While it is the president’s prerogative to establish priorities for executive branch agencies, reductions of the magnitude reported will make it difficult for CISA to carry out its missions, including protecting federal civilian executive branch networks and helping to protect U.S. critical infrastructure," Daniel added.
The cuts follow the removal of Gen. Timothy Haugh as commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency last week.
In February,CISA cut at least 130 people as part of a larger round of cuts at the Department of Homeland Security. The agency later called them back and put them on paid leave after a ruling by a U.S. District Court judge.
A spokesperson for CISA said the agency would not comment on the reported plans.
“These firings of senior personnel like General Haugh and cyber personnel cuts at CISA, NSA and elsewhere are actually harming national security on a daily basis — this goes well beyond ‘disruption’ and is actually causing ‘destabilization,’” Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said via email.
Montgomery said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has conducted a series of actions that are gutting CISA, while weakening public-private efforts to collaborate on cyber risk.
“Most disturbingly, she is doing this with little to no coordination with the private sector and state and local agencies,” Montgomery added. “These actions are weakening national security.”
Congressional leaders plan to raise concerns about the expected cuts during a Tuesday hearing on DeepSeek by the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino and Rep. Eric Swalwell, the chairman and ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, last week criticized the administration for prior cuts at CISA and warned that additional cuts would have negative consequences for the ability to counter foreign adversaries.
