DHS nominee Mullin pressed on restoring CISA staffing

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin, the nominee to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was pressed on whether he plans to restore the thousands of roles that have been slashed at the federal cyber defense agency. 

Mullin appeared before the Senate Homeland Security committee on Wednesday morning after being nominated by President Donald Trump to replace outgoing secretary Kristi Noem.

While much of the hearing focused on the current DHS shutdown that has lasted more than one month, several senators touched on issues related to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) asked Mullin about Noem’s decision to cut CISA’s workforce by one third and remove hundreds of millions of dollars from the agency’s budget after Trump took office. 

Mullin declined to say whether he would restore CISA’s budget or rehire those who had been fired or transferred to other agencies within DHS.

“We've got to recruit the right people, the best and brightest individuals in those areas. Recruiting individuals that want to be there, that want to deliver the mission, is vitally important, and so we will work to make sure that happens,” he said. 

“Now, if you want me to talk about staffing numbers, I don't know what the mission requires, but we will be staffed adequately if we can find the right people to staff or to make sure that we're mission capable.”

CISA has seen drastic changes since Trump took office following years of criticism from him and other senior Republicans about the agency’s work addressing Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns as well as its statements backing the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. 

After being confirmed, Noem almost immediately cut critical programs covering election security, disbanded investigatory bodies, limited state cyber grants and threatened to end DHS’ support for the leading vulnerability tracking system. 

Her choice to lead CISA on an acting basis, Madhu Gottumukkala, became embroiled in multiple controversies before being put in a new role two weeks ago. Members of Congress called for an investigation into Gottumukkala’s actions last Friday. 

During Mullin’s hearing, multiple Senators warned that the recent U.S. conflict with Iran will likely unleash a wave of cyberattacks that would necessitate an agency like CISA being at full force to protect American systems. 

Committee ranking member Gary Peters (D-MI) noted that the cyberattack on Michigan-based medical device giant Stryker was allegedly perpetrated by Iranian actors and caused chaos in the state. 

“This administration has also gutted our nation's main cybersecurity agency, once again forcing out or reassigning highly talented personnel, slashing budgets and limiting the agency's work to help private companies address significant cyberattacks and protect Americans from criminal hackers and support secure elections,” said Peters.

Mullin is expected to be approved by the committee and have his nomination progress to a full Senate vote.