US Cybersecurity Agency CISA it is is in dire straitsaccording to bipartisan lawmakers and industry leaders who fear the agency’s ability to carry out its core mission has diminished and left it unprepared for a cybersecurity crisis.
News website Cyberscoop’s Tim Starks spoke to sources in Congress, the private cyber industry and beyond, and what emerged reflects a general consensus that CISA has suffered from cuts and layoffs in the first year of the Trump administration.
During that time, CISA lost about a third of its staff, costing it programs, staff and expertise, including the agency’s anti-ransomware initiative and efforts to promote secure software development. Some of those have included several members of its election security team, TechCrunch reported last year. CISA is the federal agency responsible for election security. Some have warned that Trump’s continued obsession with promoting false claims about the 2020 election has led the administration to deprioritize CISA.
CISA also reset hundreds of other staff to assist other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security as part of the Trump administration’s broad immigration crackdown.
Many of Cyberscoop’s sources blame the Trump administration, Congress, or both. Others singled out CISA deputy director Madhu Gottumukkala, who struggled to lead the agency and reportedly caused security headaches as a result.
CISA has been without a permanent director since Trump took office in 2025.
The cyber security service is said to be operational at this time at staff level about 38%. as the partial shutdown of the US federal government, which began on February 14, is extended. Lawmakers have refused to continue funding federal immigration authorities amid widespread criticism after the killings of two American citizens by federal agents.
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When reached for comment, CISA’s Gottumukkala told TechCrunch that the agency “remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting our federal networks from malicious cyber threat actors despite the multi-week government shutdown” of Homeland Security.
