CISA has been constrained by not having a Senate-confirmed director since January 2025, but is ready to rebound once the expected nominee is in place, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at a hearing Thursday.

“We don't have the personnel and so we’ve got to get my director in place, that we have, that the president's met with. We got to put, we got to get him in place,” Mullin told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee subcommittee overseeing the agency. “Put him in place, let him hire his people, and get it built.”

Mullin said he believes CISA needs about 600 new hires, a process that can’t start with gusto until a new director is confirmed. Mullin did not name the planned pick at the hearing. Shyam Sankar, the chief technology officer of Palantir Technologies, is thought to be the likely nominee, though the White House previously said he is not a top contender “at this time.” 

CISA previously lost about one-third of its workforce to layoffs undertaken as part of the administration’s focus on shrinking the federal government. Democrats say the cuts have hurt the cybersecurity agency’s ability to connect with state governments and industry. Acting Director Nick Andersen has said CISA has already begun hiring people and expects to employ about 300 new people in the coming months.

Mullin said the agency does not need to hire back all of the employees it has shed — reportedly about 1,000 — but needs to staff up with the best people.

“I don't want to put bodies in position,” he said. “I want to put the talented individuals that know what they're doing and have partnerships with our state and local officials.”

Mullin said it will take “probably” a year to build CISA back up.  It could be longer if the director decides to do a thorough overhaul, Mullin said, but he added that he believes “we can make significant strides in the first three months.”

The secretary also said he is concerned by the cybersecurity and data privacy threats posed by China.

“China's working every single day … to try getting into our systems,” Mullin said. “That's where CISA is going to play a major role, because we can't expect Meta or Google to do it on their own.”

“We're going to need new clarity [from Congress] on how far CISA can go,” he said..

Some lawmakers asked Mullin about the department’s investment in counter drone technology, which Mullin said is a priority for him. Counter drones are capable of surveillance and tracking, but are primarily used to detect, monitor and disable unauthorized drones.

The department’s focus on buying cutting-edge technology, including extensive surveillance tools, is intentional, Mullin said.

“We don't want technology that we bought last year and it's outdated by the time it gets put in place,” he said. “The AI is a game changer, it is a force multiplier.”

Mullin said the department is testing new products to address the “lapses and holes in the system.”