IC Workforce & Organization — 2026-09-23

House Democrats Introduce CISA Force Structure Assessment Act After 1000 Employee Departures Under Trump

BLUFEnactment by December 31, 2026 has almost no chance, leaving the bill's real utility as a messaging vehicle to force public accounting of CISA's roughly one-third workforce loss.

Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA-11), along with House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and cybersecurity subcommittee Ranking Member Delia Ramirez (D-IL), introduced the CISA Force Structure Assessment Act on September 21 12. The bill would require CISA's director to assess whether the agency retains sufficient personnel, training, certifications and resources to fulfill its mission, covering federal network security, AI and quantum-computing risks, threat-hunting and incident response, critical infrastructure support, and international cooperation, with findings due to House and Senate homeland security committees within one year of enactment 13. The sponsors' office said nearly 1,000 CISA employees have been "fired, sidelined, or pushed out" since President Trump took office, roughly one-third of the agency's workforce 13. The bill was formally introduced in the House on September 16 and referred to the Homeland Security, Oversight and Government Reform, and Energy and Commerce committees 2.

Analysis
Enactment of the CISA Force Structure Assessment Act by December 31, 2026 is almost no chance, given Democratic sponsorship in a Republican-controlled House, referral to three committees with no scheduled markup, and a year-end calendar dominated by appropriations fights. The bill functions primarily as an oversight vehicle, compelling public documentation of CISA attrition that DHS has not itself disclosed. Passage would require GOP committee leadership to prioritize a Democrat-authored bill spotlighting Trump-era cuts, an alignment unlikely absent bipartisan pressure from a major cyber incident. Moderate confidence reflects consistent committee-referral reporting but no visibility into internal Republican scheduling intentions.
4 sources
  1. Walkinshaw, Ranking Member Thompson, Ramirez Introduce Bill to Strengthen Oversight of CISA's Cyber Workforce - Office of Rep. James Walkinshaw
  2. To require a force structure assessment of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and for other purposes. - GovInfo (U.S. Government Publishing Office)
  3. House Dems Introduce Bill to Assess CISA Workforce Gaps - MeriTalk
  4. Dems seek top-to-bottom assessment of CISA workforce - CyberScoop

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