White House Proposes $500 Million Cut to CISA www.databreachtoday.com/white-hou…

President Donald Trump has proposed slashing the budget of the federal cyber defense agency by nearly $500 million as part of the administration’s forthcoming spending plan.

The White House provided a series of recommendations on discretionary spending levels for fiscal year 2026 in a Friday letter sent to the Senate appropriations committee, detailing a “rigorous, line-by-line review” of the previous year’s budget which it said was found to be “laden with spending contrary to the needs of ordinary working Americans.” The proposal includes a $491 million cut to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - a nearly 16% reduction in funding from the previous year - which the White House said will help the agency refocus “on its core mission.”

Trump said the spending cuts at CISA target divisions of the agency that combat online misinformation and other offices he claimed were used “to violate the First Amendment, target Americans for protected speech and target the President.” In reality, experts warn cuts could weaken CISA’s ability to combat growing cyberthreats from foreign adversaries while defending federal systems and critical infrastructure sectors nationwide from cyberattacks (see: CISA Grapples With Growing Exodus, Workforce Buyout Turmoil).