Palantir CISO Michael LoSapio Picked to Lead CISA
President Donald Trump nominated Palantir chief information security officer Michael LoSapio to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The cybersecurity news comes as CISA faces pressure to rebuild its capacity, while the Senate’s timeline for considering the nomination remains unclear.
President Donald Trump nominated Palantir chief information security officer Michael LoSapio to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Monday, a cybersecurity news development that could put a new director in charge of a weakened agency.
The Senate’s timeline for considering the nomination is unclear. CISA has lacked a Senate-confirmed director since the end of the Biden administration.
Agency faces rebuilding challenge
If confirmed, LoSapio would take on rebuilding CISA’s capabilities and restoring its standing, challenges that have grown amid layoffs, resignations, program freezes, reduced services and political attacks over the past two years.
Many longtime partners in the critical infrastructure community no longer trust the agency to provide guidance or assistance. The White House also appears to be sidelining CISA in a key artificial intelligence security initiative.
Some cybersecurity experts have questioned whether CISA can still lead U.S. government efforts to analyze and counter threats from Russia, China, rogue AI and quantum computers.
LoSapio’s experience and Senate hurdles
LoSapio has spent two decades as an engineer, including brief stints at three universities and a year-long job as a site reliability engineer at database firm SingleStore. He first worked at Palantir as a systems engineer in the mid-2010s, left, then rejoined in 2017.
He led Palantir’s network security team from 2017 to 2024 and has served as the company’s chief information security officer since September 2024. The account of his career describes engineering and cybersecurity roles, without significant management experience or prior government work.
Trump’s first CISA nominee withdrew in April after the nomination languished for more than a year. LoSapio’s nomination may face added hurdles after Democrats take control of Congress in January.
Democratic lawmakers have criticized Palantir’s role in mass surveillance programs, arguing that they violate federal privacy laws and the Constitution. The White House and Palantir did not respond to requests for comment on the nomination.
A spokesperson for Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican who leads the committee with jurisdiction over CISA, did not respond to a question about whether Paul planned to hold a confirmation hearing.
Sen. Gary Peters, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said CISA “has been severely weakened” and needs a leader committed to rebuilding its capabilities and supporting its workforce.
“Mr. LoSapio must demonstrate that he possesses the independent judgment and qualifications to decisively place national security and the national interest above political pressure,” Peters said in a statement.
Nick Andersen, CISA’s No. 2 official, has served as acting director since February. Some experts believe he could lead the agency for the rest of Trump’s second term.
