Trump Names Palantir CISO Michael LoSapio to Lead CISA

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Michael LoSapio, chief information security officer at Palantir, to direct the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the federal body responsible for securing critical infrastructure and federal networks.

The nomination ends a leadership gap that has run for the entirety of Trump's second term. The previous nominee, Sean Plankey, withdrew in April after his confirmation stalled in the Senate.

Who is Michael LoSapio?

LoSapio serves as CISO of Palantir Technologies, the data-analytics vendor that holds extensive federal contracts. The administration had signaled it wanted a candidate from a high-profile technology company for the CISA post, according to agency watchers. LoSapio fits that profile directly.

He replaces acting director Nick Andersen, who has run the agency under an "acting" designation. Andersen was running out of legal days to hold the interim position, though a formal nomination can pause that statutory clock.

What obstacles does the nomination face?

Palantir carries political baggage. Democrats, who are set to take control of Congress, have scrutinized the company over its work with the Department of Homeland Security. Palantir has denied aiding mass surveillance of immigrants.

Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, has placed one of several Senate holds tied to the agency's conduct. As of late last month, Wyden was still waiting for CISA to release a public version of a report on telecommunications cybersecurity. His hold had been placed on Plankey pending receipt of that report.

The timeline favors quick action. Republicans control the Senate until January, and a lame-duck session began Monday. Confirmation during that window would seat LoSapio before the chamber changes hands.

Why did the agency lack a confirmed director?

CISA has operated without Senate-confirmed leadership since the start of Trump's second term in January. Plankey's nomination languished without a floor vote, and he withdrew in April.

Wyden's hold, tied to the withheld telecommunications cybersecurity report, was one of several Senate holds on Plankey. That procedural block, combined with the withdrawal, left the agency in acting hands for months.

Some CISA observers believed Andersen would simply continue in the role. Federal law limits how long an official may serve in an acting capacity, and Andersen was approaching that limit — a constraint the new nomination may now pause.

What comes next?

The Senate must confirm LoSapio before he takes the post permanently. The lame-duck session gives Republicans a window to act before Democrats assume congressional control in January.

If confirmation stalls, CISA could return to a leadership limbo under an acting director with an expiring statutory clock. If confirmed, LoSapio would take charge of the agency tasked with federal network defense, election infrastructure security and coordination with critical-infrastructure operators — while carrying the scrutiny attached to his current employer's federal contracting portfolio.