Circuit Wire — a daily news update from the Circuit.
Five House Democrats have asked the Government Accountability Office to examine how staffing cuts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have affected its ability to defend federal networks and critical infrastructure. The request, reported on Friday, was addressed to acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown.
The letter was led by Representatives James Walkinshaw of Virginia, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. Ramirez is the top Democrat on the committee's cybersecurity subcommittee, where Walkinshaw also sits. Representatives Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island and LaMonica McIver of New Jersey signed as well.
Layoffs, voluntary departures and other personnel actions have taken CISA from roughly 3,300 employees to about 2,200. Acting Director Nick Andersen has said the agency plans to hire about 330 people. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said CISA may need roughly 600 additional staff, and that hiring could take a year or more. Internal transfers have complicated the picture further, with about 70 employees moved to other Homeland Security offices last year and just over 30 moved in.
The lawmakers want the GAO to map how the workforce has changed over the past five years, including its size, composition, geographic spread and reliance on contractors. They also asked the watchdog to identify which programs the reductions hit, what consequences CISA's government and industry partners have reported, what data the agency uses to make workforce decisions, and whether its human capital strategy matches its mission.
"Little is known about the impact of these workforce reductions on CISA's programs and services," the lawmakers wrote, arguing it is unclear whether the agency can replace the skills it has lost.
The funding picture remains unsettled. The administration's fiscal 2027 request would eliminate roughly 870 CISA positions, including staff tied to election security, stakeholder engagement and workforce development. House appropriators have advanced a bill giving the agency about $400 million more than the White House asked for, with $31 million set aside for critical hires. That measure has not reached a House floor vote, and the Senate has not released its version.
A GAO spokesperson, Sarah Kaczmarek, confirmed the office received the request and said it was working through its process for deciding whether and when to take on the work. CISA did not respond to requests for comment. The agency has had no confirmed director since Jen Easterly left at the end of the Biden administration, and it is currently helping the FBI support utilities responding to cyberattacks affecting at least 12 states.
Want a weekly roundup of the major stories shaping the security industry? The On The Circuit newsletter is read by more than 12,000 protection professionals.
Spotted something we should cover? Send tips and feedback via circuit-magazine.com.