Thousands of election-focused workers have been cut during Trump's second term
Summary
Since President Donald Trump began his second term, thousands of workers focused on election security have been cut from government agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). This has reduced federal support to state and local election offices, raising concerns about vulnerabilities and leaving those offices to rely on other resources for cybersecurity.Key Facts
- Nearly 1,000 employees were cut or left CISA by mid-2025, reducing its workforce from about 3,400 to around 2,500.
- CISA’s funding request decreased from roughly $3 billion in 2025 to $2.4 billion in 2026 under the Trump administration.
- CISA stopped federal support for programs that helped state and local election offices protect themselves from cyber threats.
- Some election-security employees were placed on administrative leave in February 2025, followed by an internal agency review.
- The FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, which investigated covert foreign efforts to influence U.S. elections, was disbanded on February 5, 2025.
- State officials have asked Congress to restore or increase federal cybersecurity support due to rising election-security threats.
- The government says the cuts saved about $10 million annually and aimed to focus on core priorities but led to less federal aid for states.
- After the 2020 election, President Trump fired CISA’s director Chris Krebs following Krebs’ statement that the election was secure.
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