Noem calls for ‘smaller, more nimble’ CISA during nomination hearing

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump's pick to lead DHS, criticized CISA's work on misinformation and said the agency "has gotten far off mission."

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security is signaling potential changes at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, nominated by Trump to serve as homeland security secretary, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday. She fielded a range of questions, largely on border security and immigration enforcement.

On the cybersecurity front, Noem in her opening statement said she would prioritize a “comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to cybersecurity,” without offering further specifics.

“I fully acknowledge that people in Washington, DC do not have all of the answers, and therefore I will leverage private, public partnerships,” Noem added as part of her opening statement. “I will advance cutting edge state of the art technologies to protect our nation’s digital landscape.”

But asked about CISA’s role during the hearing, Noem was critical of the agency’s work to combat misinformation and disinformation. Conservatives, such as the authors of Project 2025, have argued CISA’s work to address election-related misinformation and disinformation has amounted to a censorship.

“CISA’s gotten far off mission,” Noem said. “They’re using their resources in ways that was never intended. The misinformation and disinformation that they have stuck their toe into and meddled with should be refocused back onto what their job is.”

Noem pointed to CISA’s work with state and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure organizations, to combat cyber threats. She also referenced the recent cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, including Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon.

“These threats are real,” Noem said. “CISA needs to be much more effective, smaller, more nimble, to really fulfill their mission, which is to hunt and to help harden our nation’s critical infrastructure.”

Later in the hearing, Noem was asked by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) about investigating CISA’s work with social media companies. She called CISA’s work to address misinformation and disinformation “shocking.”

“Ensuring that they can’t do that in the future under any administration would be a priority,” Noem said. “That they stay doing what they’re supposed to do, hardening our systems and working with local officials to do that is a priority. And I’d look forward to working with you on legislation, should you wish to rein them in.”

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has also been an outspoken critic of CISA’s efforts to identify misinformation and disinformation.

CISA has strongly pushed back against claims it censored speech or facilitated censorship. Its work on election security is a small component of the agency’s infrastructure security division.

CISA has grown quickly over the last four years, largely driven by efforts to defend against cyber attacks on both federal government networks and critical infrastructure.

Outgoing CISA Director Jen Easterly has said she hopes the Trump administration continues the agency’s work on election security.

“I really, really hope that we can continue to support those state and local election officials,” she said during a Wednesday event in Washington, D.C., with the nonprofit Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “I think they’ve benefited by the resources that we’ve brought. I think they would say that.”

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