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Sean Plankey, the nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, glided through a relatively uncontroversial nomination hearing last week, but his path to confirmation in the Senate remains murky due to one senator’s hold.
Plankey testified alongside several other nominees before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week. Plankey is currently serving as a senior adviser at the Coast Guard while he awaits Senate confirmation.
Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) pressed Plankey on how he would ensure CISA fulfills its mission while facing steep workforce losses and budget cuts under the Trump administration.
Plankey responded that he would “allow the operators to operate.”
“CISA has a number of the most capable cybersecurity people in the world,” he said.
If confirmed, Plankey said he would focus particularly on protecting critical infrastructure, “mom and pop small businesses” and the federal civilian executive branch from cyberattacks.
“If that means we have to reorganize in some form or fashion, that’s what we’ll do. I’ll lead that charge,” Plankey said. “And if that means that we need a different level of funding than we currently have now, then I will approach the secretary, ask for that funding, ask for that support.”
Plankey pointed to his experience working with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump to increase funding for the Coast Guard amid major reforms.
But unlike the Coast Guard, Peters pointed out that there aren’t any “cyber protection reserves” to back up CISA.
“I would hope that if confirmed, you’re really focused on the resource needs and have the willingness to step up and tell folks, ‘No, this is really important,’” Peters said.
Plankey also backed a congressional push to reauthorize the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015. The law’s authorities expire at the end of September.
“If that was left to expire, in particular in the financial sector — who does some of the most prevalent amount of information sharing — they would experience difficulties in information sharing, in community protection of information security, and then other industries would as well,” Plankey said.
Plankey also said it would be a priority to address supply chain concerns, such as potential rogue communication devices in Chinese-made renewable energy infrastructure.
“If confirmed, it will be a priority of mine to remove all Chinese intrusions, exploitations or infestation in the American supply chain,” Plankey said.
Plankey is a former Energy Department and Coast Guard official who is widely supported for the CISA role by the cybersecurity community.
Following the hearing, new House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) called on the Senate to quickly confirm Plankey.
“Every minute without CISA’s top leadership in place puts our security at risk and benefits nation-state sponsored cyber actors like Salt Typhoon,” Garbarino said. “I am committed to working with my House and Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle to dig deeper into that intrusion, which is essential for CISA to address in its role as the Sector Risk Management Agency for the communications sector.”
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to vote on advancing Plankey’s nomination on Wednesday.
However, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is holding Plankey’s nomination on the Senate floor until CISA commits to releasing a report on cybersecurity weaknesses in U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.
FEMA reforms
Last week, leaders on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released their much-anticipated, bipartisan bill to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The “FEMA Act” would lift FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security and make it an independent, cabinet-level agency. It would also make major reforms to FEMA’s disaster assistant processes, with the changes aimed at streamlining both individual assistance and funding provided to state and local governments.
“This bill does more than any recent reforms to cut through the bureaucracy, streamline programs, provide flexibility, and return FEMA to its core purpose of empowering the states to lead and coordinating the federal response when it’s needed,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said in a statement.
The bill would also set up a task force to close out more than 1,000 disaster declarations dating back to Hurricane Katrina. And it would direct FEMA to develop a universal application for individual disaster assistance.
The Trump administration has also established a FEMA Review Council to recommend reforms to federal emergency management. The council’s recommendations are due to the White House in November.
TSA tech request
The Transportation Security Administration, meanwhile, is reminding industry to respond by Aug. 1 to its request for information on “turnkey” airport screening solutions.
The RFI was released through TSA’s Screening Partnership Program, which allows commercial airports to use private security screening companies under TSA’s oversight.
TSA’s acting administrator previously told Congress that “nothing is off the table” regarding any potential privatization of the agency’s screening functions.
In a notice, TSA told industry it’s particularly interested in technology that can “reduce reliance on manual labor,” incorporate “AI-driven threat detection and remote screening,” improve the satisfaction of passengers, and “increase adaptability during surge events or staffing constraints.”
TSA has already been experimenting with artificial intelligence to train and assist TSA airport screeners.
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