Senate committee advances Trump nominee to lead cybersecurity agency that protects election systems

Source: AP

Updated 4:42 PM EDT, July 30, 2025


NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Senate committee voted Wednesday to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency that secures the nation’s critical infrastructure, including election systems.

Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 9-6 to recommend Sean Plankey ’s nomination for director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, which sits under the Department of Homeland Security.

The agency has been dealing with workforce and funding cuts, as well as criticism from Republicans over some of its election-related activities.

Plankey, who retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2023, worked in the first Trump administration as a director for cyber policy at the National Security Council and then as a principal deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/cisa-cybersecurity-elections-senate-confirmation-plankey-trump-8178049eafcdb5cf047fb5545746a3dd