The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would lose nearly 1,000 full-time employees under the Trump administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, a stark downsizing of the government’s frontline civilian cybersecurity force even as digital threats from nation-states and cybercriminals continue to escalate.
According to a detailed budget supplement released Friday evening, CISA’s projected workforce would drop from 3,292 employees to 2,324 for the 2026 fiscal year, which starts at the end of September. The agency’s operational funding obligations would also fall by more than $420 million, from $2.38 billion to $1.96 billion, and a separate agency budget justification document shows its total funding would drop some $495 million.
While the budget boosts funding for infrastructure security efforts within CISA, most other program lines — including cybersecurity operations, stakeholder engagement and mission support — would face millions in cuts. CISA was initially forecast to lose some $491 million under President Donald Trump’s “skinny budget” released a month ago.
It’s unclear if the projected employee reductions already factor in those participating in a governmentwide deferred resignation program and similar mechanisms being offered to CISA’s workforce to leave government service. The deferred resignation program continues to pay workers until the fiscal year ends. Planned cuts at the agency were projected to shed around 1,300 employees, multiple people familiar with the matter previously told Nextgov/FCW.
The proposal would entirely eliminate the agency’s Election Security Program, with 14 positions and about $39.6 million on the chopping block. That cut was expected after CISA said it would end support in March, leaving thousands of state and local governments in limbo.
The proposed budget also includes a $45 million cut to Cyber Defense Education and Training. Additionally, the cyber agency intends to cut 35 positions and shed $70 million from the National Risk Management Center, which coordinates risk analysis to mitigate cyber and physical threats that target critical infrastructure.
Beyond CISA, other parts of the federal cyber and national intelligence ecosystem face lowered funding outlooks.
The FBI, which leads domestic cybercriminal investigations, would see its obligations drop by $560 million, alongside a loss of nearly 1,900 staff. The Justice Department’s National Security Division, which handles foreign intelligence surveillance policy and various counterintelligence operations, would see its budget fall from $133 million to $119 million, accompanied by a reduction of 19 full-time employees.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response, which oversees cybersecurity for the nation’s electric grid, would see a sharp cut from $222 million to $179 million and a staffing reduction of more than 30%. And the National Science Foundation’s computer science research activities would face a dramatic drop from $952 million in the current fiscal year to $346 million in FY26.
At the General Services Administration, funding for the Information Technology Category — which oversees governmentwide IT procurement and modernization services — would decline from $335 million in FY25 to $217 million in FY26, a reduction of $118 million.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, which focuses on combating financial crime, would see its obligations decline slightly from $274 million to $254 million.
And the Office of the National Cyber Director, responsible for coordinating cyber strategy across the federal government, would lose $2 million in funding for 2026 but keep its current level of 85 full-time employees.
Some areas buck the trend. The Intelligence Community Management Account — which provides administrative and policy support across the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies — would receive a modest funding increase from $687 million in FY25 to $700 million in FY26.
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, the watchdog for spy agency infringements into Americans’ civil liberties, would see minimal year-over-year changes in funding or staffing. The board is currently in a legal battle with the Trump administration over the firing of its Democratic members.
CISA, which was created in 2018 during Trump’s first term, has increasingly become the public face of federal response to cyberattacks, election security and espionage from foreign adversaries. But it’s come under the wrath of the Trump administration for its role in debunking claims of election fraud in 2020, its public-facing posture on disinformation threats and what administration officials now describe as bureaucratic overreach and politicization.
Recent staffing departures at CISA now leave nearly all of the agency’s operational divisions and at least half its regional bureaus without a permanent leader.
Sean Plankey, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the cyber agency, is expected to face questions about these budget changes when he testifies this Thursday alongside National Cyber Director nominee Sean Cairncross. Congress will ultimately decide whether to endorse, reverse or revise the administration’s funding levels when it crafts the official budget bills in the coming months.
Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to reflect a drop in $495 million for CISA’s total funding obligations, not $420 million, as originally written.
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