Cybersecurity Policy Report, House Democrats Assail Reductions in CISA’s Cyber Workforce, (Oct 21, 2025)
The termination and reassignment of personnel at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will weaken U.S. cyber defenses amid high-profile hacks of critical infrastructure, five House Democrats warned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a letter released today.
“CISA personnel defend against cybersecurity threats from foreign adversaries seeking to weaken critical U.S. systems, including power grids, health care networks, water treatment facilities, transportation systems, and communications infrastructure. Interference with these systems can cause catastrophic harm to life and property,” the lawmakers reminded Ms. Noem.
They noted that the U.S. was still recovering from cyber attacks on critical infrastructure attributed to the Chinese government and that CISA had recently warned of an “imminent risk” to government and private-sector systems from an attack on widely used software and devices from F5, Inc. (CPR, Oct. 15).
“Despite these clear and immediate threats to our nation, the Trump Administration has chosen to illegally fire or reassign key CISA personnel away from their core mission in pursuit of political goals,” the lawmakers said.
“Among those affected are personnel from CISA’s Stakeholder Engagement and Infrastructure Divisions, the very teams responsible for coordinating with public and private partners to identify, mitigate, and prevent cyberattacks,” they said.
In addition to reductions in force (RIFs) ordered by the White House, CISA personnel have been reassigned to immigration enforcement duties and “threatened with termination if they refuse to relocate,” they said.
“Not only do these RIFs violate the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending or obligating funds without a congressional appropriation during a shutdown, they also raise serious concerns about the Administration’s motives. It is difficult to understand how defending the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure could be viewed as inconsistent with the President’s stated goal of protecting the homeland,” the lawmakers added.
“The result is a government with a hollowed out federal workforce, diminished cybersecurity readiness, and that is ill equipped to defend the American people from immediate threats,” they told Ms. Noem. “We urge you to immediately reclassify DHS personnel transferred away from CISA back into cyber defense roles. We further demand that CISA employees who were recently RIFd be reinstated in positions that strengthen our nation’s cybersecurity posture.”
They asked Ms. Noem to respond with an explanation of how the personnel moves improved the nation’s security.
The letter was signed by Reps. James Walkinshaw (D., Va.), Shontel Brown (D., Ohio), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D., D.C.), Suhas Subramanyam (D., Va.), and Eugene Vindman (D., Va.).
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