IC Oversight & Authorities — 2026-05-22

Bipartisan Lawmakers Say CISA Cuts Have Gone Too Far Amid China Cyber Threats

BLUFBipartisan alarm gives critics a credible China threat frame, but without an appropriations lever or confirmation hearing, formal termination of CISA's Mobile App Vetting program by end of July 2026 remains genuinely uncertain.

Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) said Thursday at the National Cyber Innovation Forum that CISA cuts have impaired domestic network defense against foreign adversaries, citing Chinese-linked intrusion campaigns including Salt Typhoon 12. Trump's fiscal 2027 budget proposes cutting the agency by $707 million, with a separate budget document indicating a smaller reduction of $361 million; either figure leaves CISA at slightly more than $2 billion in discretionary funding 1. The agency has already shed roughly a third of its personnel, shuttered entire divisions, and operated without a Senate-confirmed director during the second Trump administration 13. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) separately wrote DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday demanding an explanation for plans to eliminate the Mobile App Vetting program as early as this month 3.

Analysis
Formal termination of the Mobile App Vetting program by the end of July 2026 is genuinely uncertain. Garbarino's letter to Noem, the sharpest congressional check to date, carries no binding authority over executive budget execution. Salt Typhoon gives bipartisan critics a credible threat frame, but parallel IC oversight disputes demonstrate that such demands have not constrained executive decision-making in the current administration. The administration may instead view Mobile App Vetting as a commercial or DoD function, making the cuts deliberate mission consolidation. Moderate confidence rests on direct lawmaker testimony and budget documentation, with no confirmed agency termination schedule and budget figures unverified outside the civic-cybersecurity editorial cluster. If the program is shuttered before August, appropriators lose their clearest test of whether oversight letters bind executive budget execution and face pressure to pursue statutory ring-fencing for remaining CISA capabilities.

4 sources

Lawmakers from both parties say CISA cuts have gone too far - CyberScoop
Bacon, Walkinshaw Push Congress to Strengthen CISA Amid Rising AI Cyber Threats - MeriTalk
'There Will Be Pain': CISA Cuts Spark Bipartisan Concerns - GovInfoSecurity
Restoring CISA is one issue many lawmakers can agree on - Federal News Network