Sean Plankey, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), pledged at his Senate nomination hearing today to focus on the agency’s primary security missions and to push for more resources from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Congress if those are required.
The White House nominated Plankey to become CISA director in March, but the nomination has languished since then, due in part to statements from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who indicated that he would place a hold on the nomination over CISA’s refusal to publicly release a 2022 report on telecom sector security.
Plankey served at the tail end of the first Trump administration as assistant director for infrastructure security at CISA. Before that, he was principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) at the Energy Department and director for cyber policy on the White House National Security Council.
Plankey, who is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, also was deputy chief information officer for Naval Intelligence, supported U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and logged two years at U.S. Cyber Command.
During his nomination hearing today before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Plankey repeatedly pledged to focus tightly on CISA’s primary mission of protecting the security of Federal government civilian agency networks, and to help U.S. critical infrastructure sectors protect themselves from cybersecurity and other threats.
Responding to a question from Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who is the ranking member of the committee, Plankey talked about his intended initial approaches to the new job and pledged he would advocate for greater agency funding if necessary.
“My question for you is how would you ensure that all of the agency’s statutory requirements are met given potentially millions of dollars in budget cuts that we’re seeing and hundreds of personnel leaving” CISA, Sen. Peters asked, while adding, “You’re walking into an agency that’s critically important, and it’s … being cut off at the knees” on the funding and staffing fronts.
“One of the ways that I’ve found that’s most effective when you come in to lead an organization is to allow the operators to operate,” Plankey replied.
“CISA has a number of the most capable cybersecurity people in the world,” he said, adding that if confirmed as CISA director, he would provide direction to CISA personnel “on the hill we are going to take, charge up, and protect the American public from cybersecurity attacks on critical infrastructure in state and local areas, mom-and-pop small businesses, but then also the Federal civilian executive branch.”
“I’m going to empower those operators to operate and do the best they can,” Plankey said.
“And if that means we have to reorganize in some form or fashion, that’s what we’ll do, I’ll lead that charge,” the nominee pledged.
On the funding front, Plankey said, “If that means that we need a different level of funding than we currently have now, then I will approach the [DHS] secretary, [and] ask for that funding, ask for that support.”
“I’m heartened by her understanding of the Department of Homeland Security and where she’s applied her resources,” he said, including pushing additional funding to the Coast Guard.
“I have no doubt if I go to her and tell her we’re driving in this direction to protect the American public, she’ll work under the president’s leadership to then work with Congress to get us the funds we need,” Plankey said.
Most of the questioning to Plankey during today’s hearing did not appear to be controversial, other than a query from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who asked the nominee if the 2020 presidential election was “rigged and stolen.”
Plankey replied that he had not personally reviewed the cybersecurity of the 2020 election and said his opinion on the matter was “probably not really relevant.”
Sen. Blumenthal responded by saying “there ought to be no hesitation to your answer to these questions,” adding his view that any hesitancy on that front gave the senator “very serious doubts” about Plankey’s ability to run CISA.