Trump Renominates Sean Plankey to Lead CISA

Former NSC Cyber Adviser Renominated to Lead CISA Amid Ongoing Senate Gridlock Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) • January 15, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump renominated Sean Plankey to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, reviving a stalled candidacy that left the nation’s cyber defense agency without a Senate-confirmed leader for a year.

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The nomination will face many of the same obstacles that stopped the Senate from taking up the nomination in 2025.

The White House said Tuesday that Plankey, a cybersecurity veteran and former National Security Council cyber policy director, was among a slate of nominations submitted to the Senate for confirmation. CISA has operated without a permanent director since Trump took office, a leadership void that coincided with workforce drawdowns ...