Federal Cuts to Domestic Terrorism Combating Efforts Raise Concerns

Strategic Insights -

Federal cuts to local and state terrorism combating efforts have raised concerns among advocates and researchers about the possibility of more attacks at a time when threats of violence are on the rise. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump's administration has reallocated law enforcement resources to assist in carrying out his mass deportation agenda, including shutting down a national database that kept track of attempted and successful terrorism and targeted violence events and cutting FBI staff tasked with focusing on domestic terrorism.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships has lost approximately 20 percent of its staff since March due to federal workforce cuts.
  • The Terrorism and Targeted Violence program, which maintained a public dataset of targeted violence instances, was shut down in March by DHS, despite findings that perpetrators of this type of violence are increasingly older and more targeted at schools.
  • The program's shutdown has left a gap in security measures, according to William Braniff, the former director of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, who warned that it could lead to tragic events.
  • Officials across the country have hinted at similar concerns, with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel stating that federal resources for state and local domestic terrorism combating efforts were depleting.
  • The Justice Department has disputed claims that it is "ignoring data" and "realigning resources away from the battle" against domestic terrorism.
  • Concerns about potential increasing threats and attacks have led some lawmakers to sound the alarm, with Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois calling for a reversal of the administration's approach to domestic terrorism combating efforts.

Statistics:

  • 20 percent of the staff at the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships were terminated in March due to federal workforce cuts.
  • 25 percent increase in terrorism or targeted violent events in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same time period last year, according to a report from the Terrorisms and Targeted Violence program.
  • 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment predicted the terrorism threat would "remain high" over the next year due to violent extremist responses to domestic sociopolitical developments and international events.

Sources:

  • The Guardian (William Braniff, former director of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships)
  • ProPublica (Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel)
  • ProPublica (Terrorism and Targeted Violence program)
  • Reuters (Jacob Ware, expert on domestic terrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations)
  • ProPublica (Justice Department spokesperson)
  • The Independent