House Democrats Demand IG Probe After Former Acting CISA Director Failed Two Counterintelligence Polygraphs
Five House Democrats led by Rep. James Walkinshaw formally requested DHS and IC inspectors general investigate the handling of former acting CISA director Madhu Gottumukkala's counterintelligence polygraph failures. Gottumukkala failed two CI polygraphs while seeking access to a Controlled Access Program in July 2025. Rather than addressing the security concern, DHS Acting Chief Security Officer Michael Boyajian suspended the clearances of five career CISA staff members and one contractor who administered or scheduled the exams, accusing them of misleading Gottumukkala about the polygraph requirement. The lawmakers called the retaliation against career officials 'deeply troubling' and requested a full IG investigation into whether established intelligence security protocols were violated.
This incident connects to the broader CISA degradation narrative: career security officials who followed standard CI protocols were punished while a political appointee who failed two polygraphs faced no consequences. With CISA at 38% and federal polygraphers down 30% from DRP/VERA, the pattern of accountability inversion at a crisis-level agency compounds the workforce risk.
3 sources
- Lawmakers seek watchdog probe into former acting CISA chief's polygraph failures -
Nextgov/FCW - US Lawmakers Call for CISA Polygraph Probe -
GovInfoSecurity - Walkinshaw Leads Letter Demanding Independent Investigation Into CISA Polygraph Incident - Rep. James Walkinshaw (Official)