- If confirmed, the cybersecurity executive would take over an agency rebuilding after workforce cuts and nearly 22 months without a permanent director
WASHINGTON 15 NOVEMBER 2026 (Agencies) – President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Palantir’s chief information security officer, Michael LoSapio, to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, seeking to fill a leadership vacancy that has stretched through nearly two years of staffing cuts and other changes at the agency.
LoSapio would oversee the federal government’s main civilian cyberdefence unit, which helps protect agency networks and works with operators of water systems, power grids, telecommunications networks and other critical infrastructure to prevent and respond to attacks. He has been Palantir’s chief information security officer since September 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile, and before that led the company’s infrastructure and network security group from December 2017. He previously worked at Palantir as a systems engineer from 2013 to 2016, then spent more than a year at the database company SingleStore before returning, and earlier held systems engineering roles at New York University and Seton Hall University. LoSapio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CISA has been without a permanent Senate-confirmed director since Jen Easterly’s departure in January 2025. Nick Andersen has led the agency in an acting capacity since February, after a series of incidents tied to its previous acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala. Trump’s previous choice, Sean Plankey, withdrew from consideration in April after more than a year awaiting confirmation, with his nomination entangled in a dispute with Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida over Coast Guard contracting.
LoSapio’s nomination faces a crowded Senate calendar, with lawmakers working to fund the government and approve defence legislation before the year ends. His consideration could fall to the incoming Democratic majority if Republicans do not complete his confirmation during the remaining session, in which case Trump would have to nominate him again. That could bring additional scrutiny of his work at Palantir, whose government contracts and handling of sensitive information have drawn questions from Democrats. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has said he plans to renew inquiries into the company’s work with the administration when he begins chairing the Senate Finance Committee, and that lawmakers could compel answers if the company does not cooperate. Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether Palantir’s work with the Department of Homeland Security enables government surveillance of Americans, a charge the company denies, saying it does not conduct or enable mass surveillance.
If confirmed, LoSapio would inherit an agency attempting to recover from cuts that reduced its workforce by roughly a third since Trump returned to office. CISA has since moved to refill a few hundred positions. House Democrats have also pledged to investigate the workforce cuts and changes to the agency’s election security work. Last month, the agency released a strategy calling for a review of its services and greater attention to infrastructure whose disruption would cause the most harm to public safety, the economy and national security.