Thousands of election-focused workers cut during Trump's second term

Thousands of government workers tasked with ensuring election security have been dismissed or have left their positions since the beginning of President Trump's second administration, despite his focus on election integrity. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the primary federal body protecting U.S. election systems, has seen a significant reduction in its workforce.

By mid-2025, nearly 1,000 CISA personnel, approximately one-third of its staff, had departed or been removed from active service. These departures included terminations, resignations, administrative leaves, non-renewed contracts, and program shutdowns. Consequently, CISA's staffing levels fell to around 2,500, a decrease from approximately 3,400 a year prior. These reductions align with budget proposals that sought less funding for CISA in subsequent fiscal years.

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the most secure in American history

CISA, established in 2018 with bipartisan support, faced scrutiny after President Trump fired its director, Chris Krebs, following his statement that the 2020 election was the "most secure in American history." Early in Trump's second term, in February 2025, 17 CISA election-security employees were placed on administrative leave, and the agency's election-security activities underwent an internal review.

As a result of these changes, CISA ended federal support for the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which aids state and local election offices in cybersecurity. The agency also reduced and then terminated its cooperative arrangement with the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. CISA stated these cuts would save $10 million annually and redirect resources, but states now must rely more heavily on their own IT agencies, fusion centers, private vendors, and informal networks for services previously offered by the federal government.

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highly inaccurate