Trump’s quiet cuts at a key cybersecurity agency

Summary

POLITICO Tech Podcast Summary

Episode: Trump’s Quiet Cuts at a Key Cybersecurity Agency
Release Date: February 10, 2025
Host: Stephen Overlea
Guest: Maggie Miller, POLITICO Cybersecurity Reporter

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Introduction

In the February 10, 2025 episode of POLITICO Tech, host Stephen Overlea delves into the Trump administration's recent strategic reductions within the federal government, focusing specifically on significant cuts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The episode features an insightful conversation with Maggie Miller, a seasoned cybersecurity reporter from POLITICO, who sheds light on the implications of these administrative changes.

Background on CISA and Government Efficiency Efforts

CISA plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the United States' critical infrastructure from cyber threats and ensuring the resilience of national systems against various disruptions. However, since the 2020 elections, CISA has been under intense scrutiny from President Donald Trump and Republican factions for its efforts in combating election-related disinformation and foreign interference. This tension has culminated in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiating widespread cuts across multiple federal agencies, including CISA.

Stephen Overlea introduces the topic by stating:

“At the U.S. agency for International Development, thousands of employees have been put on administrative leave as the agency is effectively dismantled... a much smaller agency within the Department of Homeland Security is also being scaled back."
(00:33)

Details of the Cuts at CISA

Maggie Miller confirms that approximately half a dozen CISA employees, who were integral to election security and disinformation countermeasures, have been placed on administrative leave. These roles, though constituting a minor fraction (about 2-3%) of CISA’s overall operations, are critical given their focus on safeguarding electoral integrity.

Maggie Miller explains:

“...they had been carrying out a task of trying, trying to find and point out election related, very specific election related disinformation or misinformation online.”
(03:05)

She elaborates on the historical context, noting that CISA’s Rumor Control website during the 2020 elections aimed to debunk misinformation related to voting procedures. This initiative, however, attracted significant backlash from Trump and other Republicans, who perceived it as censorship of conservative viewpoints.

Implications of the Cuts

The removal of these employees is perceived not merely as a reduction of staff but as a targeted move against CISA’s election security functions. The new Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirsti Noem, highlighted a need to "refocus" CISA’s mission, which signals a potential scaling back of efforts that extend beyond traditional cybersecurity roles.

Maggie Miller remarks:

“Secretary Noem did say during her confirmation hearing that she wanted to refocus CISA and potentially shrink it, make it smaller.”
(06:02)

This strategic refocusing raises concerns about the agency’s capacity to combat sophisticated cyber threats. Maggie underscores that threats like the Chinese-linked hacking group Salt Typhoon, which has infiltrated U.S. telecom networks, remain a pressing issue requiring robust cybersecurity measures.

Maggie Miller adds:

“...CISA has been very deeply involved in looking into and investigating. But they also carry out so many other duties in terms of securing... our nation's critical infrastructure.”
(09:31)

Internal Reactions and Future Outlook

Employees within CISA are reportedly experiencing uncertainty and concern regarding their job security and the agency's future direction. Maggie Miller discusses the broader sentiment of apprehension that permeates not just CISA but other federal agencies undergoing similar cuts.

Maggie Miller states:

“There is a concern, there is trepidation, but that's kind of the case across the whole federal government right now.”
(10:27)

The administration’s consistent targeting of agencies involved in security operations signals a potential ongoing trend of downsizing critical government functions. However, the extent to which CISA’s essential cybersecurity roles will be affected remains to be seen.

Conclusion

The POLITICO Tech episode effectively highlights the Trump administration's strategic cuts to CISA, emphasizing the delicate balance between reducing government size and maintaining essential cybersecurity defenses. Maggie Miller provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential repercussions these cuts may have on national security and the ongoing efforts to secure the United States against evolving cyber threats. As the situation unfolds, the federal landscape continues to navigate the challenges of government efficiency amidst heightened political tensions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Stephen Overlea: “At the U.S. agency for International Development, thousands of employees have been put on administrative leave as the agency is effectively dismantled.” (00:33)

• Maggie Miller: “They had been carrying out a task of trying, trying to find and point out election related, very specific election related disinformation or misinformation online.” (03:05)

• Maggie Miller: “Secretary Noem did say during her confirmation hearing that she wanted to refocus CISA and potentially shrink it, make it smaller.” (06:02)

• Maggie Miller: “CISA has been very deeply involved in looking into and investigating... our nation's critical infrastructure.” (09:31)

• Maggie Miller: “There is a concern, there is trepidation, but that's kind of the case across the whole federal government right now.” (10:27)

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for those who have not listened to the podcast.

Transcript

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[Stephen Overlea]

Hey welcome back to Politico tech. Today's Monday, February 10th. I'm Stephen Overlea. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been rapidly making their way.

[Dave]

Across the federal government.

[Stephen Overlea]

At the U.S. agency for International Development, thousands of employees have been put on administrative leave as the agency is effectively dismantled. Similar efforts to cut spending and staff are underway at the Department of Education, and also on the list of targets are Health and Human Services and the Pentagon. But a much smaller agency within the Department of Homeland Security is also being scaled back. Politico reported on Friday that several officials from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have been put on leave. These officials worked to counter election related disinformation and foreign interference work that has been the ire of President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans since he lost the 2020 election. On the show today, Politico cybersecurity reporter Maggie Miller breaks down the latest at CISA and why others inside the agency are nervous there's more damage to come. Here's our conversation.

[Dave]

Hey Maggie, welcome back to Politico Tech.

[Maggie Miller]

Thanks so much for having me, as always.

[Dave]

So the Trump administration's efforts to downsize the government have hit the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency cisa. What can you tell me about what positions have been cut?

[Maggie Miller]

Myself and my colleague John Sacalariardis heard just on Friday morning that around half a dozen could be a little bit squishier on the number. But around half a dozen employees from CISA who had at one time in recent years worked on its election security and resilience efforts, countering disinformation. They were told on Thursday night that they had been put on administrative leave, according to multiple people who spoke with John on condition of anonymity.

[Dave]

And so we're not talking about a lot of jobs here necessarily, but these are some pretty critical roles. And in recent elections there were people who had been involved in detecting and stopping disinformation and foreign interference. What kind of work were they doing exactly?

[Maggie Miller]

Yeah, so that's a good point in that they had been carrying out a task of trying, trying to find and point out election related, very specific election related disinformation or misinformation online. Now, this was something that CISA as an agency has come under huge criticism for and fire under since 2020, when the agency had put up a website during the 2020 elections called Rumor Control to simply point out disinformation or misinformation found during the election and try to inform about things that may not be true about, for example, where to go to vote, timing around voting, et cetera. However, there were concerns by Republicans and by President Trump during his first term that this was censoring conservative voices. And after President Biden took office, actually CISA ended up really moving back and pulling back from a lot of its counter disinformation and counter misinformation work due to this ongoing Hoffman hostility from Republicans around this effort that CISA had undertaken in 2020. And actually, even though it became, as one person has described to me, maybe around 2 to 3% of CISA's total work in recent years, it has been a consistent issue brought up anytime CISA officials appear on Capitol Hill by Republicans and is something that is really informing already clearly how the Trump administration is approaching the agenc.

[Dave]

So is this is putting these people on leave kind of a case of bad blood and Republicans finally having a chance to get some revenge here?

[Maggie Miller]

Well, you know, I can't say 100%. You know, we reported on this news, but we can't necessarily say 100% what was behind the decision. However, we did have a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security point out to us in the story the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirsti Noem, did state during her confirmation hearing that CISA needs to, quote, refocus on its mission. And the spokesperson said that, quote, we are starting with election security. So this is clearly a move by the new Trump administration and the new secretary to, as they just put it, refocus CISA and move them away from even the small amounts that they were doing on disinformation. And even though these employees who were put on administrative leave had done this work in years past, clearly this record is still there and something that the Trump administration is moving to address in some way.

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[Stephen Overlea]

Do we know if these cuts are.

[Dave]

Only the beginning for cisa? I mean, as you said, this is really a small fraction of the agency's work. So is there a of whether it might be a larger target here as part of, you know, the Department of Government Efficiency and these efforts by the administration to really shrink government?

[Maggie Miller]

I think that's a very good question to be asking. Just before we reported, the day before we reported on the cuts to these positions, or I should say, the administrative leave that these individuals were placed on, we found out that CISA had been added to the agencies that were being offered the resignation offer, deferred resignation offer under the Trump administration. And that had not previously been the case with CISA this whole week. In fact, agencies that had been carrying out security operations, such as those in the intelligence space prior to this week had been seen as exempt from that buyout offer. However, it was offered to CISA this week. So it does show that there is, you know, this attention focused on cisa. And I think that everyone has been kind of wondering how President Trump may approach this agency, given how he left office. He was very unhappy with how CISA in 2020 approached the disinformation and misinformation space. And he also was clearly unhappy when the then CISA director, Chris Krebs, came out with a statement in 2020 saying that that election was secure. That led to President Trump firing Krebs and other agency leaders. And it certainly probably doesn't make people, I would think, at CISA, feel particularly secure in their jobs, given that President Trump has this past history with the agency. But I think right now, it's a question of wait and see on what DOGE will do. It does seem like they are working their way through most of the agencies right now. And as I said earlier, Secretary Noem did say during her confirmation hearing that she wanted to refocus CISA and potentially shrink it, make it smaller. So that could involve cutting positions. How popular that will be, though, is unclear, given that so little of the agency's work is on disinformation. So much more is on protecting the nation's critical infrastructure against, you know, massive cyber attacks, which we have seen no shortage of in recent months.

[Dave]

That's What I was going to say here is, you know, the reality is the scope of the agency's work is arguably more important than ever. You know, you and I have talked in the past, for instance, about Salt Typhoon, which is this Chinese hacking group that has infiltrated and is still infiltrating US Telecom networks. And so there is a lot of work to be done in this space, a lot on this agency's plate that doesn't have anything to do with elections.

[Maggie Miller]

Oh, absolutely. I'm glad you brought up Salt Typhoon. That was, of course, the Chinese government linked to efforts to infiltrate potentially millions of devices in the US including compromising President Trump's cell phone during the election prior to November. So this is something that CISA has been very deeply involved in looking into and investigating. But they also carry out so many other duties in terms of securing, again, our nation's critical infrastructure and ensuring that hackers have less of an opportunity to wreak havoc in the US So I think any effort to significantly shrink their workforce might be viewed with a bit of trepidation on Capitol Hill around at least its cybersecurity efforts. But we'll wait and see.

[Stephen Overlea]

You know, I know that you and.

[Dave]

John have had conversations with employees at cisa.

[Stephen Overlea]

Can you give any sense of what.

[Dave]

The sentiment is like inside that agency right now?

[Maggie Miller]

I think that there is concern, there is trepidation, but that's kind of the case across the whole federal government right now. As I said, it does feel that there is a sense of uncertainty that really permeates the city right now, given that just in the past week, we've seen DOGE go into so many other agencies and move very quickly through, such as in the case of usaid. So, you know, I think it's a question of uncertainty and concern and just trying to keep their head down and do their work. As I said, it's work that is pretty critical in terms of ensuring that our nation's most critical networks remain secure. And, for example, the lights stay on and the water keeps coming through the faucets and et cetera.

[Dave]

Well, listen, Maggie, appreciate you being here on Politico Tech.

[Maggie Miller]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Stephen Overlea]

That's all for today's Politico Tech. If you enjoy Politico Tech, please subscribe. And for more tech news, subscribe to our newsletters, Digital Future Daily and Morning Tech. Our managing producer is Annie Reiss. I'm Stephen Overlea. See you back here tomorrow.