Cyber Experts Say DHS Funding Cuts Have Stalled Security

Earlier this month, the White House announced funding cuts at the Homeland Security Department’s cyberdefense unit.

Now, cybersecurity experts and lawmakers are warning that those cuts and earlier staff departures have hindered the ability of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to work with the private sector and opened the door to threats.

During a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday (April 29), lawmakers warned that CISA is facing a crisis of capacity, Federal News Network reported.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) revealed that the agency has lost approximately one-third of its total workforce over the past year The Stakeholder Engagement Division, which manages private-sector coordination, suffered the biggest hit, losing 96 of its 189 staff members since early last year.

“It’s ironic to talk about modernizing DHS… when Trump has been on a vindictive campaign to dismantle CISA,” Ramirez stated, highlighting a fiscal 2027 budget request that would further slash the Stakeholder Engagement Division to just 62 positions.

The impact of these cuts is being felt acutely across the industry, the report added. Scott Algeier, executive director of the IT-ISAC, testified that the dissolution of the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) last year removed the essential legal framework for strategic engagement.

“As a result, most of the work with CISA is at a standstill,” Algeier warned, noting that adversaries continue to attack with impunity while a promised replacement for the council has failed to materialize.

PYMNTS reported earlier this month that the White House’s budget for 2027 calls for a $707 million cut to CISA, bringing its funding to $2.2 billion.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in the budget that the new allocation reverts CISA to its original mission, removes programs that duplicate others at the state and federal levels, and does away with programs focused on so-called misinformation and propaganda.

“The Budget refocuses CISA on its core mission — Federal network defense and enhancing the security and resilience of critical infrastructure — while eliminating weaponization and waste,” OMB said in the budget. “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.”

PYMNTS reported last year that CISA was facing scrutiny amid the cuts being undertaken by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).