Trump Nominates Palantir Security Chief Michael LoSapio to Lead CISA

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Michael LoSapio, chief information security officer at Palantir, to be director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The agency has had no Senate-confirmed director for the whole of Trump's second term. His first pick, Sean Plankey, languished in the Senate before withdrawing in April.

LoSapio could face obstacles of his own. Palantir is not popular with Democrats, who are set to take over Congress and have scrutinised the company's work with the Department of Homeland Security. Palantir has denied aiding mass surveillance of immigrants. Republicans still control the Senate until January, and a lame-duck session began Monday. Separately, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was still waiting late last month for CISA to release a public version of a report on telecommunications cybersecurity, and he had placed one of several Senate holds on Plankey pending its receipt.

Some CISA watchers expected acting director Nick Andersen to keep the role, but he was running out of days to hold the "acting" position under the law. Putting forward a nominee could pause that clock. The administration was thought to want someone from a high-profile tech company, which LoSapio fits. This summary covers only the opening of the original report.