Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., vowed today to fight any move to sever the dual-hat leadership relationship between the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM).
When CYBERCOM was established, it was co-located with NSA to help the new command grow by leveraging NSA’s personnel, infrastructure, and expertise, and since then, the two have shared a common top leader. The arrangement was meant to be temporary.
“I’ve spoken to my colleagues on this panel and our friends in the Senate, and on a bipartisan and bicameral basis, the Armed Services committees are strongly opposed to ending the dual-hat relationship,” Bacon said during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing.
According to Bacon, there is growing speculation about a possible split-up of NSA and CYBERCOM leadership, but he emphasized congressional resistance to the idea.
“I want to take this opportunity to make very clear to the Department’s leadership that if they believe they have allies on this issue who sit on the Pentagon’s congressional oversight panels, they do not,” he said.
In a show of bipartisan unity, Rep. Khanna, the subcommittee’s ranking member, echoed Bacon’s stance. He acknowledged that the debate over splitting leadership of the agencies keeps resurfacing. But, like Bacon, he emphasized that “support in Congress remains strong for keeping the two departments united.”
“Let me reaffirm your point about keeping CYBERCOM and the NSA together – that’s a bipartisan stance,” Khanna said. “We’ve discussed it many times, and members on this side of the aisle fully support it. It’s both bicameral and bipartisan.”
Congress has previously barred any split of the agencies’ leadership until several key conditions are met, including each agency having its own strong command-and-control systems for cyber and intelligence operations, as well as adequate tools and weapons capabilities.
Additionally, Congress requires that CYBERCOM must be able to independently develop or acquire the necessary cyber capabilities before any separation is considered.
CYBERCOM, NSA Prepared Despite Cuts, Hartman Tells Lawmakers
At a separate House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on Thursday, Lt. Gen. William J. Hartman, now serving as both acting commander of CYBERCOM and interim director of NSA, assured lawmakers that the agencies remain fully capable of defending the homeland despite recent personnel cuts.
Hartman said the NSA is focused on modernizing capabilities and maintaining its core mission of “code making and code breaking,” even as it contends with an eight percent staff reduction over 90 days.
Most of those leaving the agency have done so voluntarily, Hartman noted. The Department of Defense (DoD) is targeting a five to eight percent reduction in its civilian workforce as part of a broader federal downsizing effort that began under the Trump administration. So far, nearly 21,000 civilian positions have been cut, with the majority of those happening through DoD’s voluntary retirement program.
While acknowledging the impact of workforce changes, Hartman expressed confidence in senior leaders and highlighted the United States’ strategic advantage in artificial intelligence to fill the gaps.
He also highlighted efforts to align assignment policies and extend tours across both agencies to better retain skilled personnel.