The Donald Trump administration is planning a major budget cut to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, raising fresh concerns among lawmakers and security experts.
The administration has proposed cutting at least $707 million from CISA’s budget for 2027.
The proposal was released last week as part of a broader omnibus budget plan, which also includes measures such as the privatization of airport security.
Officials say the reduction is aimed at refocusing CISA on its “core mission” — securing federal civilian networks and protecting critical infrastructure from cyberattacks.
The administration argued that the agency should avoid what it described as “weaponization and waste.”
The proposal also alleges that CISA had been “focused on censorship,” referring to its efforts to counter misinformation during the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.
Since returning to office in 2025, Trump and his administration have repeatedly made similar claims, despite them being widely debunked.
Programs facing cuts
According to the budget document, the cuts would eliminate what it calls duplicative programs, including school safety initiatives that already exist at state and federal levels.
The move is part of a broader effort to streamline agency operations.
Previous budget battles
This is not the first attempt to scale back CISA’s funding.
Last year, the administration proposed cutting nearly $500 million, or around 17% of the agency’s federal budget. However, lawmakers pushed back, and the final reduction was lowered to about $135 million after negotiations.
Impact on cybersecurity readiness
If approved, the latest proposal would bring CISA’s operating budget down to approximately $2 billion.
Lawmakers and cybersecurity experts have warned that the agency is already under strain after a year marked by budget cuts, staff reductions, and layoffs, with hundreds of employees lost.CISA has also been operating without a Senate-confirmed permanent director since Trump began his second term in 2025.
The proposed cuts come at a time when the U.S. has faced several major cyber incidents.
These include a suspected Russian breach of the U.S. Courts filing system, attacks by Chinese groups targeting federal departments, and Iranian hackers leaking the personal email of FBI Director Kash Patel.
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