White House Ousts Key FBI and CISA Cyber Leaders, Raising Security Concerns
President Donald Trump's federal workforce purge is in part targeting senior FBI cybersecurity leaders and key staffers behind critical cyber defense efforts, including election security and the fight against online disinformation.
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Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump's administration has steadily ousted FBI agents involved in criminal cases against him, prompting top Democrats including Sen. Mark Warner to warn the purge could strip the nation of "dozens of the most experienced agents who are our first line of defense." By Friday, it was reported the FBI had forced out another wave of senior managers, including Robert Nordwall, who led criminal and cyber response efforts for the bureau.
The list of reportedly ousted FBI employees includes a wide range of officials whose departments also cover significant cybersecurity issues, such as Robert Wells, who led the bureau's national security group, as well as Ryan Young, who previously oversaw the intelligence division. The firings came as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has put nearly half a dozen employees previously assigned to the agency's Election Security and Resilience division on administrative leave, according to reports.
The administration has vowed to slash the federal workforce over the next four years, rolling out a government-wide deferred resignation program that initially excluded CISA, citing its national security role. The White House later reversed course, extending the buyout to CISA - before a federal judge temporarily halted the program.
It remains unclear whether the White House plans to replace key cybersecurity officials across the FBI, CISA and other agencies facing scrutiny from the Department of Government Efficiency - the federal task force led by billionaire Elon Musk created to shrink the government workforce. Lawmakers and cybersecurity analysts sounded the alarm on Thursday over America's growing cyber workforce shortage, testifying that the U.S. lacked critical oversight amid escalating threats from foreign adversaries, just as the administration was extending the resignation program to CISA staffers.
The White House has pushed back on growing concerns surrounding the apparent lack of cybersecurity oversight at key agencies as Musk's task force continues gaining access to sensitive federal data systems - at times in apparent violation of security regulations. Senate Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence warned Wednesday that DOGE has not provided any information to Congress about who has been formally hired "before providing them seemingly unfettered access to classified materials and Americans' personal information" (see: White House Defends Musk Amid Sensitive Data Access Uproar).
The FBI and CISA did not respond to multiple requests for comment.