Lawmakers call for investigation into impact of CISA staffing cuts

Members of Congress have asked a government watchdog to examine the effect staffing cuts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have had on the agency’s ability to function.

Bennie Thompson (D-MS), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, joined several other Democratic representatives in signing a letter asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for more information about how CISA is protecting critical infrastructure after nearly one-third of its workforce was slashed at the onset of the Trump administration. 

Nearly 1,000 CISA employees have been fired or quit since Trump took office, but acting director Nick Andersen said earlier this year that he planned to hire 300 employees to “rebuild its workforce and address staffing gaps left by the layoffs and voluntary departures.”

“We respectfully request that the [GAO] examine the impact of recent staffing reductions and programmatic cuts at CISA on the agency's ability to carry out its mission requirements, protect critical infrastructure, and respond to evolving cyber and physical threats,” they wrote. 

“At precisely the moment when our adversaries are accelerating attacks against critical infrastructure, [CISA]... has lost nearly one-third of its workforce, raising serious concerns about the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission.”

The letter adds that little is known about how the cuts impacted CISA and how the knowledge that was lost has been replaced. Several critical CISA leaders have left the agency over the last year, including David Stern — the driving force behind a key ransomware notification initiative. 

CISA did not respond to requests for comment about the letter. GAO spokesperson Sarah Kaczmarek confirmed that they received the congressional request. 

“GAO has a process it goes through to determine whether we do work and when, which we are working through right now,” she said. 

Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, previously said the department has created a plan to rebuild CISA over the next year. 

But Friday’s letter notes confusion over the Trump administration’s plan because the fiscal year 2027 budget proposed eliminating nearly 900 additional positions and cutting more than $700 million from CISA.

Dozens of states and senior Congressional leaders have said the cuts to CISA would dangerously impact municipal cybersecurity across the U.S., particularly ahead of the November election season. 

Industry leaders and state and local officials told one Senator that they have experienced “reduced responsiveness and support” from CISA and that “staffing turbulence at CISA has disrupted its service delivery and operations.”

The letter references recent advisories from CISA, the FBI and other federal agencies focused on the increased cyber threats facing critical infrastructure organizations. Federal agencies said this week that there is an “active threat” targeting critical infrastructure organizations using AI-generated exploit scripts, in what they called an “evolution” in capabilities.

CISA has not had a confirmed director since Jen Easterly left at the end of the Biden administration. Andersen recently took over on an acting basis for Madhu Gottumukkala, who was removed from the position in February after a series of scandals. 

Recorded Future News reported in June that senior Palantir official Shyam Sankar is a lead contender for the CISA director role.