The current administration fired everyone at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in February and March of 2025.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Badlands MediaSep 16, 2026
The claim that the administration fired everyone at CISA in February and March 2025 is contradicted by the sources. They show roughly 130 probationary staff fired in February, about 1,000 departures overall through buyouts, resignations and terminations, and CISA staffing still around 2,500 in 2026.
What was said
… We sit here today, eight weeks from the election, 56 days till voting ends, this year, and this is what we've seen. In 20 months, this is what you've all had to process. From the very beginning, the administration attacked the security of our elections. They fired everyone at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in February and March of 2025. People who, this administration, the former Trump administration, Trump won, actually hired and built up this incredible capacity and expertise within the CISA, as we call it, to assist election officials against cybersecurity threats and disinformation. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. CBS News reports that CISA staffing 'lingered at around 2,500, down from approximately 3,400 a year earlier,' so the agency was not emptied of staff.[3]
Contradicts. CNN reports that in early February 2025 CISA fired about 130 employees, including 10 regional security specialists, and that courts later ordered some reinstated; this is far short of the entire workforce.[2]
Contradicts. Axios reports roughly 1,000 people had left CISA by June 2025, about one-third of the workforce, mostly through buyouts and resignations rather than firings, and the Darkreading piece puts February terminations at roughly 300 to 400 against about 3,300 staff.[4][5]
Supports. Multiple reports confirm that CISA carried out significant firings and layoffs in February and early March 2025, including the Valentine's Day cuts of about 130 probationary workers and a red-team cut.[2][5][6]
Context. Reuters reports that on March 12, 2025 the federal CIO urged agencies to avoid laying off cybersecurity staff, and CISA said its red team had not been laid off, which further cuts against a claim that everyone was fired.[1][7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 1 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1White House instructs agencies to avoid firing cybersecurity staff ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2CNN: Trump is dismantling election security networks. ...padilla.senate.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3Trump zeroes in on election security. His team has cut ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 4One-third of U.S. cyber agency CISA has left since Trump ...axios.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5CISA Cuts $10M in ISAC Funding & 100s of Employeesdarkreading.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 6DOGE axes CISA ‘red team’ staffers amid ongoing federal cuts | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7www.theregister.com · security · 2025/03/13CISA: We didn't fire red teams, just unhired some of themtheregister.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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