Sources: DHS is investigating whether six staffers misled CISA's acting director into taking a polygraph that he failed, compounding instability at the agency
“At least six career staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were suspended with pay this summer after organizing a polygraph test that the agency's acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, failed.” Sharon Carbine / @sharoncarbine : Alarming! — Madhu Gottumukkala is fascist felon Donald Trump's — ACTING Director of CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency). — Gottumukkala FAILED polygraph test he took hoping “to gain access to highly classified cyber intelligence material.” — www.politico.com/news/2025/12... … David Darmofal / @daviddarmofal : The Acting Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency failed a polygraph test. The problem in Trump & Vance's view? That subordinates may have tricked the director into taking the test. Those subordinates are the ones under investigation. @multiversewanderer : The circus we see fails to scratch the surface. — The Noem-appointed acting director of CISA demanded access to intel that required a polygraph to see. He was advised not to take it. He did anyway and failed. — Now Noem is investigating staffers like it's their fault. — www.politico.com/news/2025/12... Andrew Levesque / @andrewlevesque : www.politico.com/news/2025/12... trump “security” a major maga failure... @firstconsul : To my knowledge, every civil servant with a high security clearance is required to take a polygraph. Why would he be any different? @seniormcgeezer : This reporting is no surprise, considering all Trump's — appointees have to be grifters of some type. — www.politico.com/news/2025/12... @carlfruge : We are in the hands of an unconstitutional Coup — www.politico.com/news/2025/12... @theycallmegary : Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. — At least six career staff were placed on leave after DHS opened an investigation into whether they misled the agency's acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, into taking the test. — www.politico.com/news/2025/12... @sodrock : How are you misled into a polygraph? [embedded post] @schnorkles : lmao [embedded post] Corey Quinn / @quinnypig.com : Thou shalt not embarrass the regime [embedded post] Mastodon: M.S. Bellows, Jr / @msbellows@c.im : The acting director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency failed a polygraph test. So what does this Administration do? Does it suspend and investigate the acting director who failed the test? — No, it suspends and investigates six staffers for suggesting he take it. … Kevin Beaumont / @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social : I'm still confused about what is happening at CISA. https://www.politico.com/... @AAKL@infosec.exchange : Ingenious. I'm sure they'll all get fired for this. — “At least six career staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were suspended with pay this summer after organizing a polygraph test that the agency's acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, failed.” … Forums: r/Defeat_Project_2025 : Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. r/cybersecurity : Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. r/pwnhub : Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. r/technology : Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. r/law : Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. r/politics : Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation.
PoliticoJohn Sakellariadis
Context & Ripple Effects
The reported inquiry lands against a longstanding backdrop of unclear strategic direction at CISA, where employees had already described leadership and mission-coherence concerns. Suspending career personnel during an investigation therefore raises an operational question beyond the individual incident: whether internal controls can function without further straining the agency’s workforce.
The six suspended career staffers face an employment and reputational disruption while DHS examines the circumstances of the polygraph.
CISA’s acting director and leadership team must manage access-to-classified-information and personnel processes under heightened internal scrutiny.
Second-order effects
The suspensions can weaken trust between career cyber officials and political leadership, making candid internal reporting and cooperation harder during a period of agency instability.
DHS may face pressure to clarify investigative, polygraph, and personnel-review procedures so that leadership-access decisions do not become entangled with factional disputes.
Third-order effects
If such conflicts recur, CISA’s ability to retain specialized personnel and maintain a stable operating culture could become a constraint on its cyber mission, rather than merely a management issue.
The later clearance of the staffers illustrates the governance risk of acting on contested internal allegations before facts are resolved: reversals can deepen distrust even when formal processes ultimately correct the record.
The trend: This is one data point in the growing importance of institutional resilience inside cyber agencies, where leadership continuity and career-staff trust shape operational capacity.
I was chasing this story but @johnnysaks130 beat me to it: @CISAgov has retaliated against career employees after the agency's acting director failed a polygraph test. Another embarrassing crisis at the struggling agency. https://www.politico.com/... [image]
Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. “Instead of taking ownership and saying, ‘Hey, I screwed up,’ he gets other people blamed and potentially ruins their careers,” said a current official https://www.politico.com/...
“Instead of taking ownership and saying, ‘Hey, I screwed up,’ he gets other people blamed and potentially ruins their careers,” said a current official, who described Gottumukkala's tenure at @CISAgov so far as “a nightmare” for the agency @CISACyber https://www.politico.com/...
Grim picture of agency tasked with protecting America's cyber infrastructure: Acting director of agency fails polygraph and 6 career employees who organized the polygraph for the top boss have been suspended Meanwhile 1/3 of staff have left the agency since Trump took office
A complete disaster at the agency responsible for US cyber defence. “Nearly a third of its staff have left the agency since January, and some were recently given an ultimatum to either move into immigration-related roles at the Dept of Homeland Security...or leave the agency.”
The acting head of our Cyber Security Agency failed a polygraph and he's still in place. He was given the job by Kristi Noem after working for her when she was governor of South Dakota.
“Instead of taking ownership and saying, ‘Hey, I screwed up,’ he gets other people blamed and potentially ruins their careers,” said a current official, who described Gottumukkala's tenure at CISA so far as “a nightmare” for the agency. [embedded post]
www.politico.com/news/2025/12... Good god — “At least six career staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were suspended with pay this summer after organizing a polygraph test that the agency's acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, failed.”
Alarming! — Madhu Gottumukkala is fascist felon Donald Trump's — ACTING Director of CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency). — Gottumukkala FAILED polygraph test he took hoping “to gain access to highly classified cyber intelligence material.” — www.politico…
The Acting Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency failed a polygraph test. The problem in Trump & Vance's view? That subordinates may have tricked the director into taking the test. Those subordinates are the ones under investigation.
The circus we see fails to scratch the surface. — The Noem-appointed acting director of CISA demanded access to intel that required a polygraph to see. He was advised not to take it. He did anyway and failed. — Now Noem is investigating staffers like it's their fault. — w…
Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. — At least six career staff were placed on leave after DHS opened an investigation into whether they misled the agency's acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, into taking the test. — www.politi…