Trump nominates Palantir chief information security officer Michael LoSapio to lead CISA

On Nov. 9, 2026, President Donald Trump chose Palantir chief information security officer Michael LoSapio to run the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Jen Easterly left in January 2025, opening a gap of nearly 22 months without a Senate-confirmed director. The agency safeguards civilian federal networks and coordinates responses to cyber incidents, while working with water-system, power-grid and telecommunications-network owners to stop and respond to attacks. If appointed and confirmed, LoSapio would take over from Nick Andersen as CISA director.

Since February, Nick Andersen has served as CISA’s acting director following incidents involving previous acting director Madhu Gottumukkala. Trump’s earlier nominee Sean Plankey pulled out in April, ending more than a year of confirmation waits tied to a dispute with Sen. Rick Scott. Sen. Ron Wyden put a hold on Plankey because he was waiting for CISA to release a public telecommunications cybersecurity report.

Observers of CISA expected Nick Andersen to remain acting director, yet the law was limiting how many days he could stay in the post. Naming a nominee can stop the deadline clock for an acting appointee. Administration officials believed they wanted a senior technology company veteran for the CISA director position.

The Senate remains under Republican control until January, with a lame-duck session that started Nov. 9, 2026. If confirmation does not happen before the current Congress ends, Trump would have to renominate LoSapio for the Democratic majority that takes over next. The confirmation must compete with a full Senate agenda as lawmakers work on government funding and defense measures before the year ends. LoSapio has not yet answered a request for comment.

His LinkedIn profile shows he has been Palantir’s chief information security officer since September 2024. Earlier, he oversaw Palantir’s infrastructure and network security group beginning in December 2017. He worked at Palantir as a systems engineer from 2013 to 2016, spent more than a year at SingleStore, and held systems engineering roles at New York University and Seton Hall University.

Palantir builds data integration, analytics and intelligence platforms for government agencies, military organizations and commercial customers. Palantir denies carrying out or enabling mass surveillance. Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether Palantir’s Department of Homeland Security work allows surveillance of Americans, whether it involves systems used for immigration enforcement, and whether its technology affects privacy, civil liberties and surveillance. Democrats have scrutinized Palantir over government contracts and sensitive data handling, questioning whether the software enables domestic surveillance.

Sen. Ron Wyden intends to restart inquiries into Palantir’s federal work once he chairs the Senate Finance Committee. Wyden said lawmakers can force answers if Palantir declines voluntary inquiries. By late October, Wyden was still waiting on a public version of CISA’s telecommunications cybersecurity report. Undercode News’s fact-check says Sens.

In November 2025, Ron Wyden and Mark Warner continued to demand release of a 2022 CISA telecom report.

Staffing at CISA fell by about one-third after Trump took office again, though the agency has started refilling several hundred jobs. The agency released a strategy last month asking for a review of its services. That strategy seeks greater attention for infrastructure whose disruption would seriously damage public safety, the economy and national security. CISA is sharpening its operational mission as it tries to rebuild after the workforce reductions.

House Democrats have vowed to investigate CISA staffing cuts and changes to election security work, with separate inquiries planned before leadership hearings. While led by an acting director, CISA handles election security and works with private-sector organizations. The agency needs to maintain relationships with telecom providers, technology companies, state governments and private infrastructure operators.

Undercode News reports that CISA faces increasingly advanced AI-driven cyber threats. The Salt Typhoon campaign demonstrated that weaknesses in telecommunications networks can produce national security problems. Weak telecom infrastructure could leave sensitive communications, government data and private networks exposed to espionage or cyber threats. Undercode News, citing Reuters, reports that major breaches during the previous three months involved the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Pentagon.

Private-sector cybersecurity experience might not translate directly into success in federal public service, Undercode News says, and that CISA operates under separate legal, political, operational and accountability requirements. CISA’s effectiveness depends on stable leadership, adequate staffing, reliable funding and cooperation across government and industry. The next CISA director would handle duties related to AI-enabled attacks, telecom security, ransomware, supply-chain weaknesses and operational technology threats.