Trump picks Palantir's security chief to lead US cyber defense agency

President Trump has picked Michael LoSapio, the top security executive at Palantir, to run the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA. It is the main civilian agency that defends the country against cyberattacks. The nomination was announced Monday. The Senate still has to confirm him.

Who he is

LoSapio has been Palantir's chief information security officer since September 2024. That means he is in charge of protecting the company's own systems. He first joined Palantir in 2013, later worked at database company SingleStore, and returned to Palantir in 2017.

Why CISA matters to you

CISA protects the networks of federal civilian agencies. It also works with the companies that run power, water and telecommunications services. Who leads it, and how well it is staffed, can affect services most people rely on every day.

An agency under strain

CISA has had no Senate-confirmed director since Jen Easterly left in January 2025. Reports say it has lost more than 1,000 staff, roughly a third of its workforce, since Trump returned to the White House. Acting director Nick Andersen has run it since February.

• In September, Andersen said about 250 would-be recruits were still waiting for security clearance.
• A strategy published last month focuses on infrastructure whose failure would do the most damage.
• That raises questions about what gets less attention with fewer people.

A rocky path to confirmation

LoSapio is Trump's second pick. Sean Plankey withdrew in April after more than a year of waiting, caught up in a dispute involving Republican Senator Rick Scott over Coast Guard contracting. Timing is tight again. If the Senate does not confirm LoSapio before this Congress ends, Trump must nominate him again for the incoming Democratic-controlled Senate.

Palantir adds its own questions. Co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, it supplies technology to US agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Civil liberties groups and Democratic lawmakers have criticized its immigration work over surveillance and the handling of sensitive personal information.

What is not known yet

It is unclear whether LoSapio plans to leave Palantir. It is also unclear what would happen to any financial interests he holds in the company if he is confirmed. Those questions are likely to come up at his confirmation hearings.