Cybersecurity Policy Report, CISA ‘Rebuilding’ Tops Rep. Thompson’s Priorities for Homeland Security Committee Next Year, (Nov 5, 2026)
The top priority for Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.) if, as expected, he regains the chairmanship of the House Homeland Security Committee will be rebuilding the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, according to a statement shared with CPR today.
Rep. Thompson was the committee’s ranking member when it was established as a standing committee in 2005. Since then, he has been either ranking member or chair of the committee during every session of Congress, and he’s likely to become chair again in January after Tuesday’s elections handed Democrats a House majority.
“Democrats are taking the majority at a pivotal time for CISA—it is in the process of rebuilding itself after the Administration forced out nearly one-third of its staff,” he said.
“First and foremost, we will aim to work with CISA to expedite its critical re-staffing effort and to ensure it has the expertise necessary to support stakeholders as they defend against the scale and velocity of AI-enabled cyber-attacks. Advances in AI can help defenders, but it will also accelerate the consequences of deferred investments in security and CISA must be well-positioned to help critical infrastructure owners and operators rapidly improve their cybersecurity posture,” he said.
Committee Democrats will also “work to ensure CISA re-establishes its cross-sector coordination capacity,” which was “diminished” by the elimination of key public-private partnerships last year, including the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC), Rep. Thompson said.
CISA recently unveiled a new framework for public-private partnerships to share information about threats to critical infrastructure, called the Alliance of National Councils for Homeland Operational Resilience-Critical Infrastructure (ANCHOR-CI) (CPR, July 1).
Committee Democrats intend to make sure “the Anchor-CI is eventually up and running and meets the needs of stakeholders,” Rep. Thompson said.
He also indicated that the committee would conduct robust oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. In a letter sent yesterday, Rep. Thompson reminded DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin of the department’s obligation under the Federal Records Act to preserve all records “containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency.”
“The Committee expects to receive by November 11, 2026, assurances, in writing, that Departmental records, documents, data, and information have not been and will not be destroyed, modified, removed, transferred, or otherwise rendered inaccessible,” he told Secretary Mullin.
A post from committee Democrats’ X account advised Secretary Mullin to “clear your calendar.”
On the legislative front, Rep. Thompson said he hoped to renew the $1 billion State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), which expires this year. “We will prioritize getting resources straight into the hands [of] defenders—by extending the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program and improving support of under resourced sectors, especially water,” he said.
In the Senate, Maggie Hassan (D., N.H.) is expected to become chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has oversight of CISA. Sen. Gary Peters (D., Mich.), the committee’s ranking member, is retiring, leaving Sen. Hassan as the committee’s senior Democrat and potential chair when the Senate reconvenes with a Democratic majority in January.
She signaled her interest in becoming the committee’s chair in a news release yesterday. “The new majorities in Congress must focus on affordability and accountability for the American people,” she said. “And as part of my new role on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, we will investigate and expose the corruption that is hurting taxpayers and Americans.”
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