White House Picks Palantir’s Michael LoSapio to Lead CISA
President Trump has nominated Palantir security chief Michael LoSapio to run the U.S. cybersecurity agency, which has lacked a confirmed director for nearly 22 months.
The White House said on Monday it has nominated Michael LoSapio, chief information security officer at the data-analytics company Palantir Technologies, to be director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Reuters reported. If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Nick Andersen, who has led the agency in an acting capacity.
What happened
CISA is the arm of the Department of Homeland Security that helps defend U.S. civilian government networks and critical infrastructure from hackers and foreign spies. According to Reuters, it has gone almost 22 months without a Senate-confirmed leader.
Cyberscoop reported that the agency has had no confirmed director for the whole of President Donald Trump’s second term. His first choice, Sean Plankey, stalled in the Senate and withdrew in April, according to the outlet. Cyberscoop added that Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, had placed holds on Plankey while waiting for CISA to release a public version of a report on telecommunications security.
Reuters said LoSapio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cyberscoop said the little public information about his background is that he holds the top security job at Palantir, a profile that fits the administration’s reported search for an executive from a prominent technology company.
Why it matters
Reuters reported that CISA’s staffing has fallen by about a third since Trump returned to office in 2025. It also said the nomination follows three large-scale breaches, at the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Pentagon, that were disclosed over the past three months. Reuters noted that cyber threats driven by artificial intelligence are increasingly straining defenders in and outside government.
Cyberscoop said LoSapio could face obstacles of his own. Palantir is unpopular with many Democrats, who take control of Congress in January, and some have scrutinized the company’s work with the Department of Homeland Security. Palantir has denied helping to carry out mass surveillance of immigrants, according to Cyberscoop.
What comes next
The nomination requires Senate confirmation. Republicans control the Senate until January, and a lame-duck session began Monday, Cyberscoop reported, though it said it was unclear how the nomination would proceed. No confirmation hearing or vote has been announced in the reports reviewed.
Cyberscoop also said that some observers had expected Andersen to keep the role. Under federal law, the time a person can serve as acting director is limited, but a pending nomination can pause that deadline, according to the outlet.
Not yet known is when the Senate Homeland Security committee might take up the nomination, what LoSapio’s priorities for the agency would be, and whether Andersen will remain at CISA in another role.
