White House Proposes $500 Million Cut to CISA

President Donald Trump has proposed slashing the budget of the federal cyber defense agency by nearly $500 million as part of the administration’s forthcoming spending plan.

The White House provided a series of recommendations on discretionary spending levels for fiscal year 2026 in a Friday letter sent to the Senate appropriations committee, detailing a “rigorous, line-by-line review” of the previous year’s budget which it said was found to be “laden with spending contrary to the needs of ordinary working Americans.” The proposal includes a $491 million cut to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – a nearly 16% reduction in funding from the previous year – which the White House said will help the agency refocus “on its core mission.”

Trump said the spending cuts at CISA target divisions of the agency that combat online misinformation and other offices he claimed were used “to violate the First Amendment, target Americans for protected speech and target the President.” In reality, experts warn cuts could weaken CISA’s ability to combat growing cyberthreats from foreign adversaries while defending federal systems and critical infrastructure sectors nationwide from cyberattacks (see: CISA Grapples With Growing Exodus, Workforce Buyout Turmoil).

It remains unclear how exactly CISA would slash nearly $500 million from its current budget, though the administration asserts the cuts would exclusively focus on divisions tied to “censorship.” Experts who have spoken to Information Security Media Group in recent weeks said such a reduction would likely impact every division of the agency, from external engagement offices and public-private partnerships, to campaigns and software security initiatives like the agency’s “Secure by Design” pledge (see: Senior CISA Advisers Announce Exits Amid Federal Downsizing).

CISA has had a budget of nearly $3 billion and a workforce of roughly 3,600 staffers following significant growth since its creation during Trump’s first administration in 2018. The agency has since become a key target in the administration’s ongoing spending cuts and workforce purge, with Trump attacking former CISA Director Chris Krebs and the White House threatening major cuts to come over the next four years.

The budget must still go through a formal appropriations process and pass a congressional vote before making its way to the president’s desk. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.