DHS, cyber industry mobilize to get CISA director nominee confirmed

"But with little time left on the congressional calendar, the confirmation remains uncertain. After Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., placed a hold on Sean Plankey's nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, cybersecurity policy executives and staff from both the U.S. government and private sector have begun pushing Scott's office to pull the hold and free up valuable procedural time, according to four people familiar with the matter."

"With the hold in place and limited calendar time remaining before January - when the current session of Congress ends and all nominations not held over automatically expire - it's "most likely" that Plankey would need to be renominated, a fifth person said. All sources for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid about private deliberations regarding the nominee."

"Scott's hold is unrelated to cybersecurity and involves the Department of Homeland Security scaling down a Coast Guard cutter contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which is based in Florida, three of the people said. Plankey is currently serving as a senior advisor in the Coast Guard. The Senate hold was first reported by Politico. Many in the cybersecurity industry have also communicated to Scott's office directly that he might kill the cyber nomination and still not get what he wants, two of the people said."

Sen. Rick Scott placed a hold on Sean Plankey's nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, prompting government and industry officials to press Scott's office to remove the hold. The hold is tied to a Department of Homeland Security decision to scale down a Coast Guard cutter contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Florida. Plankey currently serves as a senior advisor in the Coast Guard and previously held a senior cybersecurity role at the Energy Department. Limited calendar time before January increases the likelihood that Plankey would need to be renominated if the hold remains.

Read at Nextgov.com