Ex-NSA grandee says Trump's staff cuts will 'devastate' America's national security

Former NSA official Rob Joyce told the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that planned cuts to federal probationary employees would severely damage U.S. cybersecurity capacity against PRC threats, warning of talent loss, degraded training pipelines, and heightened risks to critical infrastructure like the power grid. Citing recent PRC-linked activity (e.g., Volt Typhoon) and concerns about TP-Link routers’ potential exposure to Chinese government influence, panelists urged funding for “rip and replace” efforts and cautioned against reducing U.S. cyber operations, emphasizing that some low-cost devices may be inherently insecure.