Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is seeking staffing and regional operations data from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as he warns that workforce reductions and proposed budget cuts could weaken cyber support for state and local governments.
In a June 16 letter to acting CISA Director Nick Andersen, Warner said staffing and funding cuts demonstrate “a dangerous underestimation of the threats facing our nation.”
The Trump administration has cut nearly one-third of CISA’s workforce since January 2025, and it proposed cutting more than $700 million from the agency’s fiscal year 2027 budget.
“While your efforts to restore some of CISA’s staffing are welcome, they appear insufficient given the scale of threats facing our nation’s cybersecurity and critical infrastructure, particularly at the state level,” Warner wrote.
Warner said state and local officials, industry leaders, and cybersecurity experts have raised concerns about CISA’s ability to deliver services following the staffing reductions. He also pointed to leadership gaps across the agency’s regional structure, saying five of CISA’s 10 regional directors are currently serving in an acting capacity.
“States and industry have reported that the staffing turbulence at CISA has disrupted its service delivery and operations,” Warner wrote.
The senator asked CISA to provide headquarters and regional organizational charts for Jan. 20, 2025; Oct. 1, 2025; and the present day, including vacancies, added billets, and reasons for departures.
Warner also asked CISA to provide a regional breakdown of security services delivered to state and local authorities from January 2023 to the present, including vulnerability scans, incident response, risk assessments, service requests received and fulfilled, and average response times.
The letter asks whether CISA has conducted a gap analysis or an internal assessment of capability gaps resulting from staffing reductions since January 2025. Warner also requested details on the nearly 200 job offers CISA plans to extend this month, including how many are for regional positions and how many would backfill departed staff.
Warner requested a response by June 26.
The letter follows Warner’s introduction earlier this month of the Guaranteeing Universal Access to Cybersecurity Act, legislation intended to restore funding for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. The center provides cyber threat information, support, training, and resources to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments.