US Domestic — 2026-06-27

Democratic Lawmaker Drafts Legislation to Dismantle Department of Homeland Security

BLUFRamirez's bill lacks a viable legislative path under Republican control, but her CISA staffing assessment exposes a critical infrastructure defense gap persisting into mid-2027 that no pending proposal addresses.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security cybersecurity subcommittee, told Nextgov/FCW she is drafting legislation to dismantle DHS, with preliminary bill language targeting introduction at the start of next year 123. The proposal would remove CISA, FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard from DHS into autonomous structures; Ramirez said she has already consulted six Democratic colleagues, including Reps. Pocan, Casar, Magaziner, Garcia, Randall, and Jayapal 23. Ramirez stated DHS has been "weaponized" under the Trump administration, with ICE and Border Patrol consuming resources at the expense of those four agencies 12. On CISA staffing, she told Nextgov/FCW that acting Director Nick Andersen's planned 330 new hires will not complete by year's end, projecting a recovery timeline of one to one-and-a-half years 23.

Analysis
The bill is a minority-party positioning exercise: Republican House control forecloses floor consideration through January 2027, and Ramirez's six Democratic consultees do not constitute a working coalition. The more operationally consequential thread, drawn from a single Nextgov/FCW interview, is her CISA workforce assessment: Andersen's 330-hire target will not close before year's end, with clearance timelines pushing full recovery to mid-to-late 2027. That gap leaves critical infrastructure defense understaffed through at least two additional budget cycles. The legislation may function primarily as a profile-building move for a ranking subcommittee member rather than a serious restructuring effort.

3 sources

Proposal to Dismantle DHS Gains Momentum as Lawmaker Says Department Has Been Weaponised - International Business Times
Top House cyber lawmaker plans to introduce DHS overhaul bill by next year - Nextgov/FCW
A plan to dismantle DHS is moving from idea to legislation - Government Executive