The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA is the agency responsible for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of the government and coordinates responses. Well with the lapse of appropriations the agency is currently operating at roughly 38% capacity (888 out of 2,341 staff).

What does this mean and where does this put the US? Well to be frank it puts the US in a crappy place to response to cybersecurity events. The US response to some sort of exploit is going to be slower and hindered and that puts the US as a whole behind the 8 ball. Colonial Pipeline wasn't that long ago but this type of event allows something similar to happen again with a slower Federal Government response.

This also affect the government ability to see how security patches work or identify other security vulnerabilities. Under the inital DHS agreement funding would have been extended for CISA to the end of FY 2026 and would have specifically provide $20 million for CISA to hire additional staff to “critical positions" within CISA but all this funding went out the door when Democrats blocked DHS funding in the name of ICE and CBP.

Funny about ICE and CBP is that there funding is now drawing from the OBBB so they are not affected at all at the moment and likely will not be if they are never funded in FY 2026 because of the 75 billion in funding. However, FEMA, CISA, TSA they all suffer for a group that will not at all. While they might score points in the publics eyes they entirely fail in the actual enforcement and operations of the actual agencies.