CISA's acting chief says 70 staff were reassigned to other DHS offices in last year

"The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's top official confirmed to House appropriators that multiple employees were given transfer orders to other offices inside the Department of Homeland Security over the last year. Acting director Madhu Gottumukkala's remarks in a Wednesday hearing came weeks after he appeared to say that those transfers - deemed as official Management Directed Reassignments - did not occur during his tenure at the cyberdefense agency."

"In January, when pressed about the reassignments in the House Homeland Security Committee, Gottumukkala said those occurred "not in my time." On Wednesday, he said about 70 CISA staffers were given reassignments and that a "handful" were transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In turn, "30 plus" people were also transferred into CISA over the last year, he said. Gottumukkala's initial remarks last month confused lawmakers and other observers because the transfer orders were underway after he joined CISA in May of last year."

Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala confirmed that multiple employees received transfer orders to other Department of Homeland Security offices over the past year. He said about 70 CISA staffers were reassigned out and a "handful" moved to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while more than 30 people were transferred into CISA. A December 2025 staffing chart shows 27 inbound transfers and 65 assigned out. The transfers occurred after Gottumukkala joined CISA in May of last year, creating confusion over earlier comments that the reassignments did not occur during his tenure. Lawmakers expressed concern that experienced cyber staff were being shifted away while threats from China and others persist.

Read at Nextgov.com