Sean Plankey, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has asked the White House to withdraw his nomination, leaving the federal cybersecurity agency without a confirmed permanent director.
Plankey submitted a letter to the White House on Wednesday, April 23, 2026, stating it had “become clear” that the Senate would not confirm him — more than a year after he was first nominated. Politico first reported the withdrawal; the New York Times published a copy of the letter.
The primary obstacle was Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who was blocking Plankey’s nomination over a Coast Guard contract unrelated to cybersecurity. Plankey previously served as a senior adviser to Coast Guard leadership. Without Scott’s support, Plankey was unlikely to secure the majority vote required for Senate confirmation.
CISA is currently being led by acting director Nick Andersen, who stepped into the role in February 2026 following the departure of Madhu Gottumukkala. Gottumukkala had been appointed in May 2025 on a temporary basis but left less than a year later after a turbulent tenure.
The leadership void comes at a difficult time for the agency. CISA, which is tasked by Congress with cybersecurity defense and infrastructure protection across the civilian federal government, has endured at least three government shutdowns, multiple rounds of furloughs, and significant budget and staff reductions — all while the U.S. government and its allies have faced a wave of cyberattacks over the past year.
Earlier in April 2026, the Trump administration proposed cutting CISA’s budget by more than $700 million, citing claims that the agency had engaged in “censorship” — a reference to CISA’s efforts to counter election misinformation during the 2020 presidential election. A White House spokesperson had not commented on whether the administration accepted Plankey’s withdrawal request or indicated who might be nominated next as permanent director.
Source: TechCrunch