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Five House Democrats asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether deep staffing and program cuts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have weakened the federal government’s ability to defend civilian networks and critical infrastructure. Lawmakers said CISA has lost nearly one-third of its workforce—falling from about 3,300 employees to roughly 2,200, with nearly 1,000 employees fired or departing—during a period of elevated cyber and physical threats, including attacks affecting utilities in at least 12 states and other active threats to critical infrastructure.
The lawmakers asked GAO to review CISA’s workforce changes over the past five years, identify which programs were affected, and determine whether the agency’s human capital strategy aligns with its mission. The request comes as officials report reduced responsiveness, disrupted service delivery, leadership instability following Jen Easterly’s departure, and no Senate-confirmed director in place, while budget uncertainty persists over a proposed fiscal 2027 plan that would eliminate about 870 more positions and cut more than $700 million, even as House appropriators have backed additional funding and critical hires.
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This week, CISA, the FBI, and other federal agencies warned of an active threat targeting critical infrastructure organizations using AI-generated exploit scripts, describing it as an evolution in attacker capabilities.
Madhu Gottumukkala was removed from the acting CISA director role in February after a series of scandals. Nick Andersen later became acting director.
In February, CISA's former acting director told lawmakers that about 70 agency employees had been reassigned to other DHS offices and just over 30 employees had moved into CISA from other DHS offices.
The GAO confirmed it received the lawmakers' request and said it is working through its process to determine whether and when it will take up the review.
Five House Democrats sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking it to investigate how staffing and program cuts at CISA have affected the agency's ability to defend federal networks and critical infrastructure. The lawmakers said CISA has lost nearly one-third of its workforce and asked GAO to assess workforce changes, affected programs, and whether CISA's human capital strategy matches mission needs.
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The acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (**CISA**), **Madhu Gottumukkala**, faced escalating scrutiny over leadership and personnel decisions as the agency manages ongoing threats to federal networks and critical infrastructure. Reporting describes an attempted management-directed reassignment of CISA CIO **Robert Costello**—a process that can force an employee to transfer within DHS or resign—that triggered immediate objections from career staff and senior political appointees, leading DHS headquarters to pause and then halt the action the same day. Lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee pressed Gottumukkala on broader staffing reductions and whether CISA retains sufficient capacity to execute its mission, including questions about efforts to push out staff and a reported attempt to remove the CIO. A chart entered into the hearing record cited a drop in personnel from **3,387 to 2,389** (a reduction of **998**), figures that aligned closely with Gottumukkala’s testimony; he also cited a **7.5%** attrition rate last year and asserted the agency has “the required staff,” while members warned that cutbacks could weaken national cyber defenses and increase exposure of critical systems and infrastructure.
Jun 29, 2026
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
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