Lawmakers from both parties say CISA cuts have gone too far | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bipartisan lawmakers warn that proposed CISA budget cuts leave U.S. critical infrastructure highly vulnerable to escalating foreign cyber threats.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/lawmakers-bipartisan-cisa-budget-cuts\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawmakers from both parties say CISA cuts have gone too far\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bipartisan lawmakers warn that proposed CISA budget cuts leave U.S. critical infrastructure highly vulnerable to escalating foreign cyber threats.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/lawmakers-bipartisan-cisa-budget-cuts\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyberscoop\/\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T20:02:58+00:00\"> <meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T20:03:01+00:00\"> <meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg\"> <meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4978\"> <meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"3319\"> <meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\"> <meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Otto\"> <meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\"> <meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gregotto\"> <meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CyberScoopNews\">  <link rel=\"dns-prefetch\" href=\"\/\/securepubads.g.doubleclick.net\">\n<link rel=\"dns-prefetch\" href=\"\/\/use.typekit.net\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" type=\"application\/rss+xml\" title=\"CyberScoop \u00bb Feed\" 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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--newsletter js-stickybar\" readability=\"0.82\"> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"27.345345345345\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"35.729559748428\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/lawmakers-bipartisan-cisa-budget-cuts\/\"> <span>Government<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and James Walkinshaw, D-Va., found rare bipartisan agreement that the agency tasked with defending civilian networks has been diminished at a moment when threats from China and others are growing. <\/p>\n<p>   <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg 4978w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=505,337 505w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=1012,675 1012w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-2.jpg?resize=1264,843 1264w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1012px) 100vw, 1012px\"><figcaption> (Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"54.285714285714\"><body readability=\"111.83943781942\"><\/p>\n<p>Two cybersecurity-focused members of Congress agreed Thursday that reductions to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have done too much damage to an agency essential to defending civilian networks against foreign adversaries.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., spoke during a discussion at the National Cyber Innovation Forum. Despite representing different parties, and serving on different congressional committees, the two lawmakers offered closely aligned assessments of <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/tag\/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency-cisa\/\">CISA\u2019<\/a>s role and the consequences of recent cuts.<\/p>\n<p>Bacon, who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, framed the agency as central to protecting domestic networks. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we really need is a strong CISA that helps protect our domestic networks, our energy grids and things like that,\u201d he said, before adding that \u201cunfortunately\u201d the administration had moved in the opposite direction over the past year. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He said officials had not appreciated the agency\u2019s defensive value, telling the audience he did not think they recognized the \u201cone-for-one output\u201d CISA provides.<\/p>\n<p>Walkinshaw, who is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, echoed that view and tied it directly to the threat picture. <\/p>\n<p>Referring to Chinese-linked intrusion campaigns like <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/tag\/salt-typhoon\/\">Salt Typhoon<\/a>, he said the United States is contending with adversaries \u201cgetting into critical infrastructure overseas and coming after big parts of our critical infrastructure industry here at home.\u201d He said CISA\u2019s information-sharing function and its relationships with utilities and local governments are part of what makes a centralized civilian defense workable.<\/p>\n<p>Both lawmakers placed their concern in the context of a threat environment they described as escalating. Bacon ranked China as the leading cyber adversary to the United States, surpassing Russia, and said intrusions lay groundwork for further actions. \u201cThey\u2019re in our energy grid,\u201d he said. \u201cOn Day 1 of the war, they want to turn off our energy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The case for a well-resourced CISA, the two lawmakers said, rests on the fact that most of the entities targeted by foreign actors cannot defend themselves on their own. Walkinshaw drew on his work during his time as a county supervisor in Fairfax County, Va., where he worked with Fairfax Water. He said that even as that utility was \u201cone of the most sophisticated, well-funded water authorities in the country,\u201d it struggled to keep pace with the volume and sophistication of attacks. Smaller utilities, towns and businesses, he said, have no realistic path to defending themselves against a nation-state.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bacon agreed. He said small companies are \u201cthe heart of American innovation\u201d but cannot be expected to stand up to adversaries operating with the resources of China, Russia, Iran or North Korea without federal support.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump\u2019s fiscal 2027 budget would cut CISA by $707 million, <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/trump-budget-proposal-would-cut-hundreds-of-millions-more-from-cisa\/\">according to a summary released last month<\/a>, though a separate budget document points to a smaller reduction of $361 million. Either figure would leave the agency with slightly more than $2 billion in discretionary funding, down from the roughly $3 billion it had at the start of the administration.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cisa-personnel-cuts-trump-second-term-analysis\/\">It has been a turbulent time<\/a> for CISA during the second Trump administration, in which the agency lost roughly a third of its personnel, shuttered entire divisions and operated without a Senate-confirmed director. Former officials, industry partners and lawmakers from both parties have described diminished coordination with state and local governments, weakened relationships with the private sector and growing concern about whether the agency retains the capacity to manage a major cyber crisis. <\/p>\n<p>In the model both lawmakers endorsed, they pushed for CISA to play more of a role after an intrusion, helping affected entities restore their networks while the FBI works to identify the source. Walkinshaw said advanced artificial intelligence expands the attack surface and makes that kind of centralized support more important.<\/p>\n<p> \u201cThe advanced AI technology means that more and smaller, maybe not as well-funded organizations across the globe, can launch sophisticated attacks,\u201d he said, adding that the result is that \u201cthe defense\u201d becomes \u201cmore complex.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Looking ahead, Walkinshaw said restoring CISA\u2019s capacity should be within reach of a divided Congress. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn terms of bipartisan areas of agreement here in Congress, restoring and expanding those capabilities and those partnerships right now should be a top priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.3932253313697\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"14\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Greg Otto\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Greg Otto<\/h4>\n<p> Greg Otto is Editor-in-Chief of CyberScoop, overseeing all editorial content for the website. Greg has led cybersecurity coverage that has won various awards, including accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Prior to joining Scoop News Group, Greg worked for the Washington Business Journal, U.S. News & World Report and WTOP Radio. He has a degree in broadcast journalism from Temple University. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__container\">\n<h2 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Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/budget\/\" rel=\"category tag\">budget<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/congress\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Congress<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/critical-infrastructure\/\" rel=\"category tag\">critical infrastructure<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency-cisa\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/government\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Government<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/house-armed-services-committee\/\" rel=\"category tag\">House Armed Services Committee<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/house-homeland-security-committee\/\" 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{"id":8673,"date":"2026-05-21T15:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=89138"},"modified":"2026-05-21T15:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:02:58","slug":"lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/lawmakers-from-both-parties-say-cisa-cuts-have-gone-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers from both parties say CISA cuts have gone too far"},"content":{"rendered":"