Cybersecurity Policy Report, Efforts to ‘Decimate’ CISA’s Cyber Workforce Must End, Rep. Swalwell Says, (Oct 15, 2025)
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) yesterday demanded that the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency “immediately cease all efforts to cut CISA’s workforce, reinstate employees who were transferred or dismissed, and provide details on the impacts of the agency’s workforce reductions.”
“Since taking office, the Trump Administration has undertaken multiple efforts to decimate CISA’s workforce, undermining our nation’s cybersecurity,” Rep. Swalwell, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity and infrastructure protection subcommittee, said in a letter to Madhu Gottumukkala, CISA’s acting director.
Rep. Swalwell cited reports that the Department of Homeland Security was “forcibly transferring CISA’s cybersecurity employees to other DHS components” as part of its “exclusive focus on its mass deportation campaign.”
He also noted that earlier cuts had reduced CISA’s cyber workforce and that new “reductions in force” (RIFs) were underway during the ongoing government shutdown. CISA has not responded to his requests for information about the workforce reductions, he told Mr. Gottumukkala.
“Even though CISA is already operating with a significantly reduced workforce during a time of unprecedented cybersecurity threats, multiple reports indicate that CISA employees are now being forcibly reassigned to other DHS components to support the Trump Administration’s mass deportation efforts,” Rep. Swalwell said.
“Transferred employees reportedly include those working in CISA’s Cybersecurity Division, particularly in capacity building efforts, and the Stakeholder Engagement Division, including those supporting the international affairs efforts that enable collaboration with allied and partner nations on global cybersecurity threats,” he said.
“These mandatory reassignments include geographical relocations and include the threat of termination if employees decline to move for new positions. To make matters worse, at the direction of Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, CISA has carried out RIFs, further diminishing CISA’s capabilities,” he said.
“To be clear, the reported RIFs are not required under law, and in fact may be prohibited by it,” Rep. Swalwell added. “The only reason for these RIFs is to further terrorize hardworking federal employees the Administration was unable to harass into leaving their jobs earlier this year.”
He asked Mr. Gottumukkala to respond by Oct. 24 with details about the workforce reductions and the reassignment of cybersecurity personnel to immigration enforcement duties.
“I should not need to remind you that cybersecurity threats pose a significant and growing risk to our national security,” he said. “In order to combat these threats, CISA needs to have sufficient personnel to carry out its mission, particularly at a time when canceled contracts and cooperative agreements have left CISA without critical third-party support.”
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