The Trump administration plans to cut the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's budget by at least $707 million in 2027.
proposed budget cuts [pdf] It was announced late last week as part of an omnibus budget that includes the privatization of airport security.
The Trump administration claims the cuts to the nation's top cybersecurity agency will refocus it on its “core mission” of securing federal civilian networks and protecting critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, rather than “weaponization and waste,” as the administration claims.
The proposal also claims that CISA is “focused on censorship,” likely referring to the agency's efforts to combat misinformation during the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.
The budget cuts will also eliminate duplicate programs such as school safety programs that already exist at the state and federal level, the document says.
Since taking office for his second term in 2025, President Trump and his administration have repeated false claims that CISA is involved in censorship, debunked them time and time again, and attacked perceived critics of the president, including Chris Krebs, the first CISA director appointed by Trump.
The Trump administration made similar false claims about CISA's election security program last year when it proposed cutting the agency's budget by nearly $500 million, or about 17% of the federal budget. Lawmakers reversed last year's cuts, and negotiations reduced the proposed budget cuts to about $135 million.
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If passed, CISA's operating budget would be reduced to about $2 billion. Lawmakers and security experts alike have warned that CISA is already in dire straits, having lost hundreds of employees after a year of cuts, layoffs and layoffs.
CISA has had no Senate-confirmed permanent director since President Trump took office in 2025.
The U.S. government has experienced several major hacks in the past year, including an alleged Russian breach of the U.S. court filing system, a Chinese attack targeting federal government departments, and Iranian hackers leaking FBI Director Kash Patel's personal emails.