The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s work to finalize an incident reporting rule would likely be further delayed if Department of Homeland Security components face another shutdown.

Potential delays to CISA’s rule were among several shutdown impacts laid out by DHS officials during a hearing held by Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee’s homeland security subcommittee on Wednesday.

A continuing resolution that is currently funding DHS agencies expires on Saturday. Republicans and Democrats have yet to strike an agreement over immigration enforcement reforms.

Republicans argue Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection are already mostly funded under last year’s tax and reconciliation bill, while other DHS components would bear the brunt of the shutdown. Many Democrats argue that more immigration enforcement reforms are urgently needed before moving forward with any DHS spending measure.

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CISA rule and reorganization

Madhu Gottumukkala, CISA’s acting director, said CISA’s activities during a shutdown are limited to “sustaining the essential functions that are necessary to ensure the safety of human life or protection of property.” About one-third of the agency’s workforce – roughly 900 people – continue working without pay during a shutdown.

“Notably, this would mean that our efforts to achieve a final rule on cyber incident reporting, as required by the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, would be paused and further delayed,” Gottumukkala said.

He added that CISA’s work to implement governmentwide cybersecurity directives like the one issued last week would also be hampered by a potential shutdown.

Gottumukkala was also pressed on reports of a CISA reorganization plan. Under the Trump administration, CISA has slashed roughly 1,000 staff. Subcommittee Chairman Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) and others expressed frustration had yet to communicate about potential reorganization plans, despite repeated requests from the subcommittee.

“We have not initiated any structural reorganization that would affect our core statutory function,” Gottumukkala said. “We remain committed to notifying the Congress if and when there will be any plans to do such changes. And what we’re trying to accomplish is to make sure that we are assigning people in the right mission critical area so that we can statutorily meet our required areas of mission.”

Gottumukkala also confirmed that about 70 CISA staff left the agency last year due to management directed reassignments to other DHS components, including ICE. He added that CISA also received about 30 new staff from other DHS components through such reassignments.

TSA attrition

About 95% of 61,000 Transportation Security Administration employees would continue working through a shutdown without pay. Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting TSA administrator, said as last fall’s shutdown dragged on, TSA saw the rate of unscheduled absences nearly double nationwide. She said TSA staff had to begin working second jobs or finding other means of pay during the shutdown.

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“We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,” she said. “Some are just recovering from the financial impact of the 43-day shutdown. Many are still reeling from it. We cannot put them through another such experience.”

McNeill said TSA also experienced a 25% increase in attrition in October and November of last year compared to the same period in 2024.

“Which is quite concerning if we’re looking at another potential shutdown, especially as we’re entering spring break travel season and to prepare ourselves for the events coming at us this summer,” she added.

Coast Guard, Secret Service recruitment

Vice Adm. Thomas Allan, acting vice commandant of the Coast Guard, said another shutdown would hit the workforce at a time when the Coast Guard is attempting to grow its ranks.

“Shutdowns cripple morale and directly harm our ability to recruit and retain the talented Americans we need to meet growing demands,” Allan said.

Similarly, the Secret Service has been rolling out reforms after years of challenges, including a major hiring push over the next two years.

“The impacts may not be seen tomorrow, but I assure you, we will feel the ripple effects for some time,”  Matthew Quinn, deputy director of the Secret Service, said during the hearing. “Delayed contracts, diminished hiring, halted new programs will be the result. We have been working hard to address needed reforms. Many of these efforts will stop with a shutdown. New personnel are not hired, or, at minimum, hiring efforts slow down.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency would still have funding through the Disaster Relief Fund during a shutdown. But Gregg Phillips, associate administrator at FEMA, said a shutdown disrupts long-term planning activities with state and local governments, such as first responder training at the National Disaster and Emergency Management University in Maryland.

“The import of these trainings cannot be measured, and their absence will be felt in our local communities,” Phillips said.

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