Trump’s twice-chosen pick to run the U.S. federal cybersecurity agency CISA has requested to withdraw from the position, leaving the agency without any clear person to lead it on a permanent basis.
In a letter to the White House on Wednesday, Sean Plankey requested that the Trump administration withdraw his nomination, citing a hold-up in the Senate, which is required to hold a vote to approve his appointment.
Plankey said it has “become clear” that the Senate will not confirm him, more than a year after he was first nominated to lead CISA.
The New York Times published a copy of Plankey’s letter on Thursday. Politico first reported Plankey’s decision to withdraw his nomination. Both publications said that Plankey was unlikely to reach a majority vote needed for his appointment as Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) was blocking his nomination over a Coast Guard contract unrelated to cybersecurity. Plankey previously served as a senior advisor to Coast Guard leadership.
Nick Andersen has been the acting director of CISA since the departure of Madhu Gottumukkala in February. Gottumukkala was appointed in May 2025 to oversee the agency on a temporary basis, but left less than a year later after a tumultuous tenure in the role.
CISA is tasked by Congress with cybersecurity defense and infrastructure protection across the civilian federal government. The agency has faced a challenging year, following at least three government shutdowns, several rounds of furloughs, as well as budget cuts and staff reductions as directed by the White House, despite a raft of cyberattacks facing the U.S. government and its allies over the past year.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration requested to slash CISA’s budget by more than $700 million amid claims that the agency was engaged in “censorship” — referring to CISA’s efforts to counter election misinformation during the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately comment on whether the administration has accepted Plankey’s request to withdraw his nomination, nor say whom the Trump administration plans to nominate as the agency’s permanent director.
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Zack Whittaker is the security editor at TechCrunch. He also authors the weekly cybersecurity newsletter, this week in security.
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