Do Son 
The Trump administration is preparing to undertake a sweeping overhaul of the United States’ cybersecurity framework. The draft budget for 2026 proposes slashing funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by $491 million—a reduction amounting to 17 percent of the agency’s total budget. The proposed cut is justified by accusations that CISA has strayed from its core mission and veered into the realm of online censorship.
The initiative, which must still pass through Congressional approval, aims to dismantle what the White House has dubbed the “censorship-industrial complex”—a term used to characterize CISA’s efforts to counter the spread of misinformation online.
The agency had already faced its first financial setback in the previous fiscal year: despite requesting $3 billion to secure the digital infrastructure of both public institutions and the private sector, the final allocation fell $34 million short of the prior year’s levels.
Particular criticism has been directed at CISA’s involvement in combatting foreign information influence and safeguarding the integrity of the electoral system.
At the heart of this political reckoning lies Donald Trump’s enduring campaign to discredit the results of the 2020 presidential election. He continues to assert claims of widespread fraud, despite extensive audits and legal reviews affirming Joe Biden’s legitimate victory. In this context, CISA’s efforts to mitigate disinformation are perceived by Trump and his allies as a direct threat to their political standing.
This tension became particularly evident at the prestigious RSA Conference in San Francisco. For the first time in years, the National Security Agency’s keynote presentation on cyber threats—State of the Hack—was canceled. CISA’s executive leadership, typically prominent at such forums, was represented by a lone panelist and abstained from traditional media engagements. Instead, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivered the principal address.
In her remarks, Noem accused CISA of overstepping its mandate by assuming the role of arbiter of truth. “CISA is not the Ministry of Truth,” she declared, announcing the forthcoming budget cuts and asserting that the agency’s role should be confined to the technical protection of information systems.
The White House’s language in the budget proposal is even more severe, echoing the fervor of China’s Cultural Revolution. The document calls for a complete cessation of misinformation monitoring and the disbandment of international cooperation divisions, which it alleges have become hubs of the “censorship-industrial complex” and serial violators of Americans’ constitutional right to free expression.
The proposal further argues that CISA devotes excessive resources to information control and public relations, thereby leaving strategically critical assets more vulnerable to attack.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is poised to receive a record increase—more than $43 billion in additional funding. These funds are earmarked for the deportation of undocumented immigrants and the expansion of the border wall stretching from California’s Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico.
The wave of proposed cuts also threatens adjacent agencies. The Transportation Security Administration faces a recommended reduction of $247 million, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency could see $646 million in cuts to programs unrelated to natural disaster response. At the end of 2024, FEMA became embroiled in scandal when an employee was dismissed after allegedly instructing rescue teams not to assist residents displaying Trump campaign symbols during a natural disaster. Although an internal investigation found no evidence of systematic political discrimination, the incident sparked widespread public outcry, leading to threats and harassment directed at emergency workers.
As with the proposed budgetary constraints for NASA, these recommendations remain, for now, confined to paper. They must first withstand intense scrutiny and negotiation in Congress, where resistance to the more draconian measures is already gathering force. Washington now braces for a turbulent battle over every line item.
