- CISA staff laid off in latest round of cuts
- Up to 176 employees face dismissal or transfer to another position
- Some employees are transferred from CISA to ICE – they are told they must quit if they refuse
The Trump administration continues to gut government services and deprioritize cybersecurity, with the latest cuts affecting the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), where up to 176 employees have reportedly been laid off and many more transferred to other departments, including from CISA.
During the federal government shutdown, only about 35% of CISA employees were cleared to work, but reassignments will affect the department. In early 2025, the NSA's former cybersecurity director warned that massive federal layoffs, including 130 CISA employees, will have a “devastating impact on cybersecurity”'.
“Riff [reductions in force] will occur at CISA,” a DHS spokesperson said. Register. “During the previous administration, CISA focused on censorship, branding and electioneering. This is part of CISA returning to its mission.”
Forced reassignments
This is not the first staff cut in a key government department, given Elon Musk's infamous cuts. Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) targets key software divisions and the loss of other senior officials through resignation.
Recent reports from Bloomberg have confirmed that a number of cybersecurity employees have been involuntarily reassigned to work within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) teams. Those who refuse are threatened with dismissal.
This means less attention on threats to US infrastructure, despite a record number of attacks, including high-profile and destructive incursions by foreign threat actors — instead, delegating priority to Trump's crackdown on immigration.
These reassignments are said to have had a particular impact on CISA's capacity building team, which is responsible for writing policy guidelines and providing cybersecurity overseas for high-value government assets.
That's especially true for senior staffers, who were reportedly given just a week to accept or resign and are barred from joining unions because of their work on national security issues, insiders said.
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