President Donald Trump renominated Sean Plankey to be the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Tuesday, after Plankey failed to receive Senate confirmation by the end of 2025.
Trump named Plankey in a batch of more than 60 nominations sent to the Senate.
However, it is unclear whether Plankey will be able to overcome hurdles coming from both sides of the aisle to be confirmed as CISA director.
Trump first nominated Plankey in March 2025 to lead CISA, and he had a confirmation hearing by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in July. The committee approved his nomination on a 9-6 vote that same month.
Though the committee approved him, that process was slowed after Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., stated he would place a hold on the nomination because of CISA’s refusal to publicly release a 2022 report on telecom sector security.
The nominee has also faced pushback from three Republican senators, who refused to move forward with Plankey’s confirmation for different reasons. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., said he would not move forward over cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster relief for his state.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., put forward a statement on Friday that he would block all Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nominations until Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., reportedly also placed a hold on Plankey after the Department of Homeland Security terminated a U.S. Coast Guard contract with a shipyard in Florida.
Plankey has served as a senior advisor to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem while awaiting his confirmation.
Beyond Plankey facing an uphill battle to become CISA director, the agency’s current acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, has been under scrutiny after a report from Politico revealed he failed a polygraph test.
CISA has also undergone major structural and staffing changes over the past year, with at least dozens of employees terminated and other offices cut or reduced in size.
Plankey served in 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 at the Energy Department and director for cyber policy on the White House National Security Council.
Plankey is also a Coast Guard veteran and a former deputy chief information officer for Naval Intelligence.