CISA’s Leadership Exodus Continues, Shaking Local Offices

A leadership vacuum is growing at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, with most heads of operational divisions and regional offices preparing to exit as staff brace for an overhaul of the agency’s mission and priorities.

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The agency confirmed a wave of key departures in a recent staff email, a source told Information Security Media Group, including the exit of acting Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Matt Hartman, along with leaders from five of six operational divisions and six of 10 regional offices. The announcement follows the Trump administration’s push for steep agency cuts, including a proposed $500 million budget reduction and an halt to election security programs effected earlier this year (see: White House Proposes $500 Million Cut to CISA).

Multiple staffers at CISA’s regional offices across the country told ISMG they fear a shift in mission under the new administration, which has already shut down local election security partnerships – a core regional focus since staffing ramped up ahead of the 2024 election. Several also pointed to the departure of Hartman, a 15-year Department of Homeland Security veteran and foundational CISA leader, as a blow that could trigger deeper internal changes.

“It’s just totally destabilizing,” said a staffer granted anonymity to discuss the wave of leadership departures. “Nobody knows if the work we’re doing today is what we’ll be doing tomorrow – there’s no one steering the ship.”

CISA Executive Director Bridget Bean pushed back on staff concerns over recent departures, saying in a prepared statement that the agency “is doubling down and fulfilling its statutory mission to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure and strengthen our collective cyber defense.”

“We have the right team in place to fulfill that mission,” the statement added.

Bean – who became acting director following former CISA Director Jen Easterly’s departure earlier this year – has overseen one of the agency’s most turbulent periods since its 2018 founding, as Republican leadership pushes to cut CISA’s workforce by up to a third. Abrupt staffing reductions and legal battles over the administration’s efforts to remove probationary employees and other personnel across CISA and other federal civilian agencies have left staffers in limbo, fueling growing fears over job security (see: Planned CISA Cuts Face Political Delays and Growing Backlash).

Upcoming top-level departures at CISA include Chief Strategy Officer Val Colfield, Chief Financial Officer Tarek Abboushi and Region 2 Director John Durkin, Region 4 Director Jay Gamble, Region 5 Director Alex Joves, Region 6 Director Rob Russell, Region 7 Director Phil Kirk and Region 10 Director Patrick Massey. Deputy Director Kathy Young is also set to leave the agency. These exits follow the recent departures of Steve Harris, acting head of the Infrastructure Security Division, and Trent Frazier, acting head of the Stakeholder Engagement Division, as well as Chief Contracting Officer Juan Arratia and Chief Human Capital Officer Blair Duncan, all of whom left in May. Vince Delaurentis, deputy lead of the Emergency Communications Division, is set to leave on May 30.

“It feels like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop,” said another staffer granted anonymity. The staffer described regional offices as being in a state of limbo amid the leadership exodus, with growing fears of sweeping staff cuts in the weeks and months ahead.

Bean defended the administration’s proposed cuts to CISA during May testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee, telling lawmakers the agency was “eliminating duplication and increasing efficiency.” She also acknowledged a surge in cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure and federal systems, stating that more than 700 million malicious connections have been blocked across the federal civilian enterprise this year (see: CISA’s Acting Director Defends Cuts Amid Growing Turmoil).