White House Seeks to Slash CISA Funding by $707 Million

The Trump administration is proposing a $707 million reduction in the budget of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for fiscal year 2027. A proposal from the Office of Management and Budget indicates that the cut aims to refocus CISA on its core mission: protecting federal networks and critical infrastructure.  The goal is also to eliminate “weaponization and waste”. “CISA was more focused on censorship than on protecting the Nation’s critical systems, and put them at risk due to poor management and inefficiency, as well as a focus on self-promotion,” the new budget proposal reads.  The proposed budget seeks to streamline operations by eliminating some CISA programs deemed redundant by the administration. This includes removing school safety initiatives that overlap with existing state and federal programs.  Additionally, the proposal calls for the dissolution of offices dedicated to international affairs and stakeholder engagement, as well as the termination of programs focused on combating misinformation and propaganda. The $707 million cut would bring CISA’s budget down to roughly $2 billion. It’s worth noting that in 2025 the White House proposed a $491 million cut from CISA’s budget, but the amount was reduced to approximately $135 million after Congress pushed back.   CISA’s budget saw significant growth during the previous administration. The increase was triggered by major cybersecurity incidents, such as those affecting SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline.  In the first months of the second Trump administration, roughly 1,000 people (one-third of staff) reportedly left CISA through voluntary resignations and layoffs. The White House had been seeking a significant workforce reduction.  However, CISA now reportedly wants to recruit more than 300 people for mission-critical roles. Nick Andersen was recently appointed acting director of CISA. Andersen, who previously served as executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the agency, replaced Madhu Gottumukkala, who left for a role at the Department of Homeland Security. President Donald Trump recently renominated Sean Plankey for the role of director at CISA. Related: Concerns Raised Over CISA’s Silent Ransomware Updates in KEV Catalog Related: Tight Cybersecurity Budgets Accelerate the Shift to AI-Driven Defense Related: The Congressional Budget Office Was Hacked Related: CISA Navigates DHS Shutdown With Reduced Staff WRITTEN BY Eduard Kovacs Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is senior managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher before starting a career in journalism in 2011. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering. 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