DHS Drops Investigation Into CISA Staffers Over Former Director’s Failed Polygraph

The Department of Homeland Security has closed its investigation into seven CISA employees who were placed on administrative leave after arranging a counterintelligence polygraph exam that the agency’s former acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, failed in July 2025. The staffers have been cleared of wrongdoing and invited to return to their positions.

The investigation was dropped approximately a week before March 30, and appears connected to a change in CISA leadership, though the agency has not provided a public explanation. Gottumukkala reportedly failed two counterintelligence scope polygraphs that were required for him to access a highly sensitive intelligence program. The CISA employees who administered and arranged the exams subsequently had their security clearances suspended and were placed on leave — a move critics characterized as retaliation.

Democratic Representatives Bennie Thompson and Eric Swalwell issued a joint statement welcoming the decision, stating the personnel were “punished by previous DHS and CISA leadership for doing their jobs.” Earlier in March, lawmakers had called for an independent inspector general investigation into the handling of the situation.

Sources

• Nextgov/FCW — DHS drops investigation into former acting CISA chief’s failed polygraph exam
• HealthcareInfoSecurity — US Lawmakers Call for CISA Polygraph Probe

Commentary

This saga has been a mess from the start. Career security professionals administered a routine counterintelligence polygraph, the acting director failed it — twice — and the response was to punish the people who did their jobs. That is the kind of institutional behavior that erodes trust and drives talented people out of government cybersecurity roles, which is the last thing CISA needs right now.

The quiet resolution — drop the investigation, clear the staffers, no public explanation — is better than doubling down, but it does not address the underlying questions about why the retaliation happened or whether Gottumukkala’s polygraph failures were ever properly investigated. For an agency tasked with defending the nation’s critical infrastructure, internal trust and accountability are not optional.