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4h ago

CISA Hit With Shutdown Layoffs Across Key Divisions as Swalwell Demands Answers

The administration casts the reductions as a mission refocus that critics warn could undermine civilian cyber defense.

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A DHS spokesperson said that the RIFs are meant to help get CISA “back on mission.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing with Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel in the Rayburn House Office Building on Sept. 17, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Overview

  • Reduction-in-force notices issued Friday targeted CISA’s Stakeholder Engagement Division, the Integrated Operations Division, and the Infrastructure Security Division’s Chemical Security unit, according to officials.
  • A DHS court filing reports 176 department layoffs since the Oct. 1 shutdown began, and a department spokesperson said most of those cuts were at CISA.
  • Management-directed reassignments have moved CISA personnel to ICE, CBP, FEMA and the Federal Protective Service, often to distant posts where refusal can trigger termination.
  • Rep. Eric Swalwell wrote to acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala seeking division-level staffing figures, reinstatement of transferred or dismissed employees, and a halt to reductions, citing about 760 departures since January and the end of the MS-ISAC agreement.
  • DHS says the actions get CISA “back on mission,” CISA did not comment during the shutdown, and two officials said the Cybersecurity Division was not hit by layoffs.