Bacon Calls Cuts to Cybersecurity “Misguided”

Senator Supports President on Iran Bombings But Not on CISA By Gordon Hopkins U.S Representative Don Bacon spoke to reporters Monday to discuss recent military actions by the U.S. in Iran and the possibility of retaliation by Iran or pro-Iranian supporters, including potential cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.U.S. military forces recently bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran: the Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, the Natanz Nuclear Facility and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center. Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, this came days after Israel began targeting Iran with missile strikes for the states purpose of crippling Iran's nuclear program and preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons. CybersecurityShortly after the bombings occurred, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) bulletin warning of a heightened threat of retaliation by Iran.On the Friday before, President Donald Trump's administration released the proposed 2026 budget for CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency), the government agency that protects critical infrastructure and government networks from cyber threats. That budget proposes to cut $495 million and nearly 30 percent of positions at CISA.When asked if this was a good idea, Bacon responded bluntly, “No. The short answer is no.”Bacon is heavily involved with U.S. cybersecurity. He said, “I'm the Cyber Subcommittee chair. I work on the DoD (Department of Defense) side, so I have oversight of Cyber Command, some elements of NSA (National Security Agency) and our military cyber, but I work very closely to homeland security, cyber which CISA is a part of that. In fact, I helped the legislation that passed, signed into law, that gave CISA the authorities that they have today to be the key defender of all things, private sector, our infrastructure and things like that.”Bacon added, “The administration, I think, is misguided on the cuts that they're trying to do to CISA and the reductions in manpower.”So what does Representative Bacon believe to be the reasons for the cuts? Bacon said, “This has been driven by the fact that CISA didn't agree with the Trump administration on the 2020 election, and any kind of irregularities that they said they couldn't find since it did. So what I found is that the administration has had an ax to grind on CISA, but CISA is the front line in defending our private sector, our infrastructure, our energy grid, and they need to be good at what they do. And I think attacking them right now is not helpful.” RetaliationAfter the bombing by the U.S., Iran retaliated by attacking a U.S. base at Al Udeid in Qatar. No casualties have been reported.The representative said, “I've spent nearly three decades with a lot of deployments in the Middle East, but what I'm reading is that there was 14 ballistic missiles fired out of Iran toward U.S. facilities, 13 were intercepted. So, very grateful about missile defense. We need it because we used to be very vulnerable to these things. A 14th one hit in an open area where very little damage was done,” saidBacon noted that Qatar did receive warning from Iran prior the attack and hypothesized this was a restrained, “face-saving” action, “I would also point out, though that, after a week-and-a-half of Israel, I think a lot of their capabilities are depleted as well. So I think that they're having to manage their resources very carefully, after launching hundreds and hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel already.”Going forward, Bacon suspects Iran is less likely to retaliate with further military action and more likely use terrorism and cyberattacks, “I would anticipate them trying to be more use, more subterfuge, terrorism, proxy forces, where they can try to deny direct involvement.” Support for the BombingDespite the concerns over possible retaliation, Bacon remains supportive of President Trump's actions against Iran.“It's clear to me that a nuclear armed Iran is a threat to America and to our allies,” said Bacon. “I think you can't really anticipate what they'll do with the nuclear weapon. With other countries, you can deter them. The deterrence works. If you ever listen to some of the writings and the speeches of the leadership of Iran, lot of times they glorify in bringing along the apocalypse.”“Israel is our ally, the only democracy in the region,” said Bacon. “My point is, Iran is a threat. Israel's our friend. It's simple as that. Support of Nebraska DelegatesBoth U.S. Senators and all three federal Representatives from Nebraska have expressed support for the attacks on Iran. U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts, who said, “President Trump gave Iran ample time to come to the negotiating table on its nuclear program. Tonight’s strikes mean Iran is further from possessing a nuclear weapon. I’m thankful for the heroes who carried out this strike and for our service members in the Middle East and around the world.”“For decades, Iran has chanted ‘death to America’ and pledged to wipe Israel off the map. When foreign adversaries pledge to destroy us, we should believe them,” wrote U.S Senator Deb Fischer in a statement. “President Trump has always been clear: Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon – and I agree. Today, his administration took the necessary steps to keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran’s reach, and I am grateful to the service members who successfully carried out the mission.”Not everyone agrees, including some Republican officials. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, normally one of President Donald Trump's staunchest supporters, made clear her opposition to the strikes on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Foreign wars have cost Americans TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS of dollars that never benefited any American.”

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