Sean Plankey, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is scheduled to testify next week before the Senate Homeland Security Committee after weeks of holdups.
Plankey was also scheduled to appear before the committee early last month, but he was pulled due to paperwork delays. He is now slated to testify July 24, according to the panel’s schedule.
But the nomination still faces a hurdle from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who stated his intent to block Plankey’s nomination and said he plans to lift the hold once CISA releases a 2022 report on telecom industry security vulnerabilities.
The senator’s office has not yet received the report, according to a Wyden aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details about its delivery.
Plankey, like all nominees, must first advance out of the relevant oversight committee in the Senate before getting to a full Senate floor vote. A Republican majority in the upper chamber would likely ease his confirmation process. He was first tapped for the role in March.
In the latter portion of Trump’s first term as president, Plankey served as principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response at the Department of Energy, overseeing energy sector engagement, preparedness, response efforts and research aimed at safeguarding U.S. energy infrastructure.
Prior to that, he served as the director for maritime and pacific cybersecurity policy at the National Security Council and also held cybersecurity leadership roles at U.S. Cyber Command.
The Homeland Security panel recently advanced Sean Cairncross, a former Republican National Committee executive, to lead the Office of the National Cyber Director.
