Employees at the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, were initially excluded from broader government offers to take deferred resignation offers, in part due to their role in national security and defending critical infrastructure.
However, on Wednesday, some CISA staffers were given the offer and just hours to decide whether to accept it, according to three sources who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity.
It's the latest move in the Trump administration's broader efforts to shrink the federal government.
"Team CISA, I am writing to provide an update that CISA employees may participate in the Deferred Resignation program ('Fork in the Road')," wrote Bridget Bean, who was identified in an email shown to NPR as the "senior official performing the duties of director" at CISA. "This is a deeply personal decision, and whichever decision you make, we support you."
Bean also wrote that the offer expires on Thursday, February 6, 2025 before midnight. It's unclear whether the offer is legally binding or whether Congress will appropriate funds to pay for it after March.
The "Fork in the Road" program mirrors language posed to then-Twitter employees after the social media company was acquired by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is now leading President Trump's government advisory team called DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency.
DOGE staffers have been entering federal agencies from the State Department to the Treasury Department for the past week, demanding access to sensitive files and systems and prompting widespread protests and legal challenges.
Government cybersecurity employees are panicking over the level of unfettered access given to the young, often inexperienced DOGE staffers working under Musk. That access reportedly extends to the Treasury Department's payments system, as well as controlled access systems for making sensitive aid payments at agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development, one of the Trump administration's top targets for elimination or dismantling.
Now, the ranks of cybersecurity experts within the federal government itself might get thinner.
"At this time, CISA employees may be considered for the Deferred Resignation program," wrote a CISA spokesperson in an email to NPR. "CISA remains committed to ensuring the continuity of our mission while supporting our workforce through this process."
CISA was established during the first Trump administration in 2018. At the time, President Trump described the legislation establishing the agency as "vital."
"Every day, America's adversaries are testing our cyber defense," he said. "They attempt to gain access to our critical infrastructure, exploit our great companies, and undermine our entire way of life. And we can't let that happen."
In 2020, CISA created a website called "Rumor Control" to debunk disinformation concerning election security during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. While the agency concluded there was no evidence of election tampering, the Trump administration claimed otherwise, and pushed out then CISA Director Chris Krebs.
After President Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January, the White House acted quickly to remove all members of DHS's advisory boards, including the CISA cybersecurity advisory committee and the Cyber Safety Review Board, which conducts reviews of major breaches. President Trump's pick to lead DHS, Kristi Noem, vowed to shrink the agency and return it to its mission of protecting critical infrastructure.
Even so, Republican lawmakers and Trump officials toned down their criticisms of CISA in recent weeks.
CISA was a key part of discovering and responding to a broad espionage campaign targeting U.S. telecoms by Chinese-state sponsored hackers called "Salt Typhoon." Those hackers stole phone records from the U.S. telecoms, including from President Trump and his then vice-presidential running mate JD Vance.
Experts concluded that CISA might be safe from a broader Trump effort to whittle down federal agencies, replace staff or eliminate programs.
Now, that conclusion is in question.
CISA isn't the only agency that might lose experts experienced in battling nation state hackers, defending critical infrastructure and gathering digital intelligence.
Earlier this week, "eligible" intelligence officers from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency were given a similar offer, though it's unclear which sensitive or high-ranking positions would be excluded.
Meanwhile, all staffers at the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, will be put on administrative leave by Friday as overseas employees will be asked to leave their posts and return to the U.S. within the next month. The agency, which distributes billions of dollars in aid worldwide, is already impacted by the staffing disruptions and the Trump administration's pause in foreign aid funding.
At USAID, the relatively new Office of Digital Technology is no longer advising its partners on cybersecurity, technology and human rights. The Agency's digital strategy, no longer available online, was developed during the first Trump administration and lauded by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 as a way to "promote safe 5G access in emerging markets and combat Beijing's efforts to equip regimes with tools to stifle democracy."
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad