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The White House’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal would cut about $707 million from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, shrinking the agency by roughly 30% and narrowing its mission to federal civilian network defense and critical infrastructure protection. Budget documents and reporting say the plan would reduce spending on personnel, contractors, equipment, mission support, stakeholder engagement, and international affairs, while also eliminating CISA’s election security program and ending support for the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center. The proposal also restructures some Department of Homeland Security functions, including changes tied to the Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, while preserving selected technical efforts such as CIRCIA implementation and cybersecurity planning support for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The proposed cuts have drawn warnings from state officials, industry groups, former agency personnel, and cybersecurity experts who say CISA’s reduced role could weaken threat intelligence sharing, incident response coordination, election security assistance, and cross-sector risk management. Multiple reports note that CISA has already faced layoffs, funding pressure, and leadership instability, and critics argue that further reductions could fragment national cyber defense at a time of continued intrusions linked to Russia, China, and Iran and growing concern over AI-enabled threats. The administration says the changes would eliminate waste, duplicative programs, and activities tied to misinformation work, but the final budget is expected to face significant congressional scrutiny.
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Health-ISAC published an analysis of the administration's FY2027 budget request and congressional justifications, highlighting the proposed $707 million CISA cut and reductions at HHS while noting some cybersecurity-related programs would remain flat or be reorganized. The analysis said CISA's justification emphasized workforce reductions, a narrower mission, continued state coordinator support, and prioritization of threats from China.
Reporting on the FY2027 proposal said it would eliminate CISA's election security program, end support for the Elections Infrastructure ISAC, reduce stakeholder engagement and international affairs functions, and cut positions tied to chemical security and other programs. The same proposal also preserved some technical cybersecurity work and included funding for CIRCIA implementation and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics cybersecurity planning.
The Trump administration's fiscal year 2027 budget proposal called for cutting about $707 million from CISA, reframing the agency around federal civilian network defense and critical infrastructure protection while reducing broader engagement and related programs. Multiple reports say the proposal would shrink CISA's budget to roughly $2 billion and is expected to face congressional scrutiny.
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Senior officials at **NIST** said significant workforce and budget reductions are forcing the agency to narrow and reprioritize work tied to national security and cybersecurity, including mandates related to **AI**, **cybersecurity**, and **post-quantum encryption**. NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory reported losing roughly **89 staff** over the past year (within a headcount of 289), amid broader agency reductions of **700+ positions**, and warned that additional congressional cuts (including a proposed **$13M** reduction to NIST’s labs program) could further constrain technical programs such as cryptographic testing and validation used for federal procurement and joint validation efforts with the Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity. On Capitol Hill, House Homeland Security Committee Democrats pressed **CISA** Acting Director **Madhu Gottumukkala** on major workforce reductions—reported as about **one-third of the agency’s employees** departing over the past 12 months—and whether the agency can sustain its mission under current funding and staffing levels. Gottumukkala defended the reductions as part of a “mission-first” effort to eliminate duplication and align work to statutory authorities, while also signaling **targeted hiring** for key roles but declining to provide lawmakers a clear vacancy count or a definitive answer on whether recently appropriated DHS funding is sufficient for CISA to execute its responsibilities.
Jun 29, 2026
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has retired six cybersecurity assessment and support programs for critical-infrastructure operators following budget reductions and a workforce decline of roughly one-third. Discontinued services include Cyber Resilience Reviews, Ransomware Readiness Assessments, Incident Management Reviews, and Cyber Infrastructure Surveys, leaving organizations to use a self-service questionnaire, Cybersecurity Performance Goals, and potentially older open-source CSET assessment modules. The reductions are expected to weigh most heavily on under-resourced water utilities, municipalities, hospitals, and other operators that relied on CISA regional-adviser support. Acting Director Nick Andersen said CISA must rapidly address aging technology, accumulated technical debt, and AI-driven risks that could overwhelm infrastructure operators with vulnerabilities. About 250 selected candidates are awaiting security clearances as the agency seeks to fill operational, cybersecurity, infrastructure-security, emergency-communications, and regional roles; Homeland Security has identified roughly 600 positions for refilling. No timeline was provided, and the administration's fiscal 2027 budget request separately proposes eliminating approximately 867 CISA positions, including funded vacancies.
Sep 9, 2026
Bipartisan lawmakers and private-sector cybersecurity leaders warned that the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (**CISA**) has been significantly weakened after roughly a year of personnel cuts and layoffs under the second Trump administration, with reporting indicating the agency has lost about **one-third of its workforce** and shuttered or reduced entire divisions. Sources described diminished ability to execute core missions such as coordinating with industry and protecting federal civilian networks, with some organizations reportedly seeking alternatives (industry alliances, outside consultants, or direct government-to-government partnerships) rather than relying on CISA support. Reporting also tied the degradation to a prolonged **leadership vacuum**—with the administration’s nominee **Sean Plankey** not confirmed and Acting Director **Madhu Gottumukkala** criticized by some sources as struggling to lead—alongside political and operational pressures that deprioritized the agency. Specific capability impacts cited include reduced **counter-ransomware** efforts, work to promote **secure software development**, and losses affecting **election security** functions; additional strain was attributed to reassignment of staff to other DHS priorities and to a partial federal government shutdown that further reduced available staffing levels, raising concerns about CISA’s readiness to respond to a major cyber crisis.
Jun 29, 2026