//
OFFLINE — VIEWING CACHED CONTENT
← Back to Archive

IC BRIEF

Current as of 1008 EDT (UTC-04), Thursday 26 March 2026

Contents

8 stories from 22 sources across 19 organizations

IC Workforce & Operational Posture

CISA Approves 329 Critical Hires Despite Ongoing DHS Shutdown and 1,000 Vacancies

Acting CISA Director Nick Andersen announced March 25 that DHS headquarters approved a critical hire list of 329 mission-critical positions across the agency. The approval represents a reversal from last year's hiring freeze, during which more than 1,000 staff departed. CISA currently operates at roughly 38% capacity with two-thirds of its workforce furloughed under the DHS shutdown now in its 41st day. Andersen also re-implemented flexible work schedules including Maxiflex arrangements. However, during the shutdown CISA can only hire for excepted positions, limiting immediate impact.

Sources:

DHS Shutdown Day 41: TSA Hemorrhaging Staff and Stalling Technology as CISA Remains in Reactive Posture

The DHS partial shutdown entered its 41st day with compounding effects on IC-adjacent agencies. TSA has lost 360+ officers since February, with callout rates of 25-38% at major airports. Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified that counter-drone capabilities, biometric matching systems, and 3D scanning deployments are all stalled. ICE agents received abbreviated training to assist with identity verification at 14 major airports. CISA security assessments of hospitals, power grids, and water systems have been cancelled. AFGE president Everett Kelly characterized the ICE assist as giving a person dying of pneumonia a teaspoon of cough syrup.

Sources:

FBI, NSA, and CISA Boycott RSA Conference 2026 After Former CISA Director Easterly Named CEO

The FBI, NSA, and CISA were absent from RSA Conference 2026 (March 23-26) in San Francisco, breaking a decade-plus tradition of federal participation at the cybersecurity industry's largest annual gathering. All three agencies pulled speakers from the agenda eight days after RSAC announced former CISA Director Jen Easterly as its new CEO; Easterly was fired by the Trump administration in January 2025. Cancelled sessions included Hunt for China's Typhoons, a behind-the-scenes look at disrupting Beijing's espionage campaigns. CISA spokesperson Marci McCarthy cited good stewardship of taxpayer dollars but declined to say whether Easterly's appointment influenced the decision. The absence removes a critical venue for public-private cyber threat intelligence sharing.

Sources:

Congressional Oversight & FISA

FISA Section 702 Vote Delayed to Mid-April as SAVE Act Linkage and GOP Defections Threaten Passage

Speaker Johnson postponed the House vote on an 18-month clean extension of FISA Section 702 past Easter recess to the week of April 13, leaving only seven legislative days before the authority expires on April 20. At least two Republicans—Boebert and Luna—are threatening to vote against the rule, and Johnson can afford only one GOP defection without Democratic support. The delay reflects two overlapping pressures: a bipartisan bloc demanding warrant requirements for queries of Americans and a separate push to attach the Trump-backed SAVE Act voter eligibility measure. CIA Director Ratcliffe told lawmakers the President favors a clean 18-month extension. The EFF and reform advocates are pushing three alternative bills—SAFE Act, PLEWSA, and GSRA—that would impose warrant protections the current extension omits.

Sources:

HPSCI Releases Hidden Inspector General Atkinson Transcript; Gabbard to Declassify SCIF Document from First Impeachment

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence voted March 24 to release two previously classified transcripts from 2019 hearings with former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson related to the origins of Trump's first impeachment. Chairman Crawford stated the transcripts address widespread mistrust of the Intelligence Community. Separately, DNI Gabbard will oversee declassification of a top-secret document that former HPSCI Chair Adam Schiff had locked in a Capitol SCIF. The material relates to the role of CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella, alleged to have authored both the disputed 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment and the 2019 complaint used against Trump.

Sources:

FBI Leadership & Accountability

Reuters Reveals Multi-Year Subpoenas in Wider-Than-Known FBI Investigation of Director Patel

Two grand jury subpoenas and nondisclosure orders viewed by Reuters reveal that the Special Counsel investigation into current FBI Director Kash Patel was more extensive than previously reported. Prosecutors under Jack Smith demanded more than two years of phone records, text messages, email addresses, IP logs, bank account information, and online identifiers from Verizon Communications. One subpoena covered January 2021 to November 2023; the other October 2020 to February 2023. The probe, internally code-named Arctic Frost, intersected with the broader Trump classified documents and 2020 election investigations. Patel was later summoned before a grand jury and granted limited immunity to compel testimony.

Sources:

Former NCTC Director Kent Alleges FBI Director Patel Blocked Investigation of Foreign Angle in Kirk Assassination

Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent told The Daily Caller that FBI Director Kash Patel ordered investigators to halt further inquiry into potential foreign links in the September 2025 assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Kent said his team identified leads warranting additional review but was directed to defer to Utah state authorities on what the FBI characterized as a slam-dunk case. A senior administration source disputed the account, stating cooperation between agencies was proceeding under DNI Gabbard's direction. Kent, who resigned March 17 over opposition to the Iran war, is himself under FBI investigation for allegedly leaking classified information.

Sources:

IC Technology & Industry

Federal Judge Questions Pentagon Motives in Anthropic Supply Chain Risk Designation; First-Ever Use Against a US Company

A federal judge in San Francisco questioned the Pentagon's rationale for designating AI company Anthropic a supply chain risk—the first time a US company has received this label under a statute designed to protect military systems from foreign sabotage. The designation, which bars all federal agencies including IC elements from using Anthropic's Claude AI models, followed the company's refusal to allow unrestricted government use of its technology for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. The judge called the government's actions troubling and not tailored to national security concerns. DoD argued that Anthropic's red lines make it an unacceptable risk to national security. Senator Elizabeth Warren separately characterized the designation as retaliation.

Sources:

UNCLASSIFIED // OPEN SOURCE