Cybersecurity

Plankey withdraws as CISA nominee

Plankey asked to be withdrawn, saying "it has become clear" the Senate won't confirm him after 13 months since his initial nomination to be CISA director.

Justin Doubleday@jdoubledayWFED

April 22, 2026 5:16 pm

2 min read

Sean Plankey, the pick to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is withdrawing from consideration after his nomination to be CISA director languished in the Senate for 13 months.

In a letter to the White House Presidential Personnel Office today, Plankey asked to have his nomination withdrawn.

“After thirteen months since my initial nomination, it has become clear the Senate will not confirm me,” Plankey wrote. “My wife and young family are owed greater certainty and work life balance from their husband and father.”

President Donald Trump first nominated Plankey last March. The pick had broad support within the cybersecurity community. Following his confirmation hearing, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted to advance Plankey’s nomination last July.

But Plankey’s nomination ran into a series of holds in the Senate. Most recently, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) placed a hold on the nomination, reportedly over Plankey’s role as a senior advisor within the Coast Guard.

Trump re-nominated Plankey early this year, but his nomination continued to face hurdles in the Senate through the spring.

“The nation and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin requires a confirmed Director of CISA without further delay,” Plankey wrote. “While I humbly request the removal of my nomination, I wholeheartedly support President Trump’s upcoming nomination for CISA and look forward to the continued success of the United States of America.”

Plankey’s withdrawal was first reported by Politico.

CISA’s leadership void

Plankey’s withdrawal caps a frustrating saga for many cybersecurity experts, who thought he would help stabilize CISA amid a series of changes under the Trump administration. The cyber agency lost roughly one-third of its staff since January 2025, including many senior leaders and top career officials. Meanwhile, the White House is seeking to cut CISA’s budget for the second year in a row.

The agency has been without a permanent leader since the start of the second Trump administration. CISA is being led by acting director Nick Andersen, who joined the agency last fall to serve as executive assistant director for cybersecurity.

CISA has also been operating under a partial government shutdown since Feb. 14. Roughly 60% of the agency’s staff was furloughed until Mullin recalled DHS employees to work earlier this month.

But the cyber agency is still hobbled by the lapse in appropriations. During a House hearing last week, Andersen said CISA is “more limited than I would like” in its ability to counter cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure amid the war in Iran.

“A lot of those preparatory activities within the environment, a lot of the outreach that we would typically be able to do, that’s simply not possible or legally allowed during the period of a shutdown,” he said. “We’re doing everything that we can.”

The shutdown has also delayed CISA’s plans to fill 300 “mission-critical” vacancies and forced the cyber agency to cancel CyberCorps summer internships.