Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing to restore funding and staffing to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), reversing course after previously voting to defund the agency in an effort to align with President Donald Trump, according to Politico.

The reported shift follows an incident involving an unreleased OpenAI model that attacked a company and remained active online for four days, Politico reported Wednesday. The episode has underscored growing concern in Washington that emerging AI capabilities could outpace the federal government's ability to detect and respond to autonomous cyber threats against critical systems.

CISA, a component of the Department of Homeland Security created in 2018, is responsible for protecting the nation's critical infrastructure — including energy grids, financial networks, and election systems — and coordinating cybersecurity efforts across federal, state, and local governments. The agency lost favor with Trump in 2020 after then-Director Christopher Krebs publicly declared the presidential elections "the most secure in American history." Trump, who had contested the election results, fired Krebs shortly afterward and has repeatedly disputed the assessment.

Now, several Republicans who previously opposed CISA funding are advocating to rebuild the agency. Reps. Andy Ogles (R-TN) and Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), both of whom previously voted against CISA funding, are now among those supporting efforts to rehabilitate the agency, per the Politico report. The reversal reflects a broader recognition among some GOP members that the agency's cyber coordination role extends beyond the election security disputes that initially made it a political target.

"The future battlefield will be shaped by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and cyber capabilities," Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) told Politico. "Congress must ensure America stays ahead of our adversaries by investing in the technologies, infrastructure, and workforce needed to defend our nation."