The Trump administration is set to reduce the budget of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency by at least $707 million for 2027.
The proposed budget cut was unveiled last week as part of an omnibus budget plan that includes the privatization of airport security.
According to the administration, the cut to the U.S. cybersecurity agency aims to refocus on securing the federal civilian network and safeguarding critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, moving away from what it described as “weaponization and waste.”
The proposal also claimed that CISA was concentrating on censorship, likely alluding to the agency’s actions to combat misinformation during the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.
The budget cuts would eliminate overlapping programs like school safety programs, that exist at the state and federal levels.
Since beginning his second term in 2025, President Trump and his administration have perpetuated false claims that CISA engaged in censorship and criticized perceived opponents of the president, including CISA’s first director Chris Krebs, a Trump appointee.
Last year, the Trump administration made similar false assertions about CISA’s election security program when proposing nearly $500 million in cuts, about 17% of its federal budget. Lawmakers opposed last year’s cuts, reducing the amount to about $135 million after discussions.
Should the budget proposal pass, CISA’s operational budget would decrease to around $2 billion. Lawmakers and security specialists have warned that CISA is already struggling, following a year marked by reductions, staffing cuts, and layoffs, resulting in a significant loss of employees.
CISA has not had a Senate-confirmed permanent director since Trump assumed office again in 2025.
The U.S. government faced several major hacks over the past year, including a suspected Russian breach of the U.S. Courts filing system, Chinese attacks on federal departments, and Iranian hackers leaking the personal email of FBI director Kash Patel.