Homeland Democrats Demand Information About National Security Impact of Trump’s Hiring Freeze on our Cybersecurity Workforce
“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency…does not have a single open position listed on the USA Jobs website”
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Committee Democrats sent a letter to Office of Personnel Management demanding more information on the impact President Trump’s hiring freeze will have on the Federal government’s cybersecurity workforce.
“[T]he Federal government has struggled to recruit, hire, and retain qualified cybersecurity workers for many years. During the Biden Administration, the Federal government took several steps to address this challenge, including through the issuance of a National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy and implementation of the Cyber Talent Management System at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Now, reckless attacks on Federal workers risk reversing recent progress in addressing the Federal government’s cyber workforce shortage,” the members wrote.
While the hiring freeze ostensibly exempted positions related to “national security” – the Trump Administration failed to define this term or provide any meaningful clarity to explain the exemptions. Disturbingly, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is the operational lead for Federal cybersecurity and the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience, does not have a single open position listed on the USA Jobs website. The same is true for cabinet-level departments that have been targeted in recent cyber attacks.
“To better understand the homeland security implications of the current hiring freeze, we seek to clarify how President Trump’s executive order has impacted the Federal cybersecurity workforce and what OPM plans to do to mitigate the national security harms of the President’s poorly drafted, vague, and irresponsible hiring freeze,” the members added.
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