Trump's ONCD Nominee Sean Cairncross Awaits Pivotal Senate Vote

Forbes

a day ago

As cybersecurity threats multiply, from ransomware and AI-enhanced espionage to supply chain breaches, the United States stands at a critical crossroads. Both the strategic and operational heads of America's cyber defense infrastructure remain vacant, even as a sweeping new Executive Order From President Trump resets federal cybersecurity priorities. The nomination of Sean Cairncross to lead the Office of the National Cyber Director comes at a pivotal moment, but his confirmation remains pending. So too does the nomination of Sean Plankey to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. At a time when America needs coordination, clarity and capability, there is no confirmed leadership in either role.
In June 2025, President Trump issued a landmark cybersecurity Executive Order that reverses or revises several Biden-era initiatives. It eliminates centralized federal digital ID programs and mandatory open-source software frameworks. In their place are a tighter geopolitical posture toward adversaries like China. The order favors decentralization, autonomy for federal agencies and a realignment of cyber priorities around economic and national resilience.
The ONCD will be responsible for interpreting and coordinating this directive across the federal landscape. Without a confirmed leader, implementation is on hold.
The ONCD, is one of the most consequential yet least known policy entities in the federal cybersecurity ecosystem. Created by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, it was born from the recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a bipartisan panel led by Senator Angus King (D) and Representative Mike Gallagher (R).
The ONCD officially launched on January 1, 2021. It is housed in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and statutorily tasked with advising the President on national cybersecurity strategy, coordinating agency efforts and building consensus on international cyber norms. Although Congress authorized up to 75 staff positions, it initially failed to appropriate funding. Only after passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in late 2021 did the ONCD receive its first operating budget of $21 million.
In March 2023, the office published the Biden administration's National Cybersecurity Strategy, positioning itself as the federal government's central policy engine for cyber coherence. Since then, it has worked to align defense, civilian and private-sector efforts under one strategic umbrella.
Current senior staff include Deputy Director Harry Wingo, Chief of Staff Michael Hochman, Acting Principal Deputy Jake Braun and deputies including Chris DeRusha, Drenan Dudley and Camille Stewart Gloster. However, the top role of National Cyber Director remains vacant as the Senate weighs Cairncross's nomination.
Both ONCD and CISA are essential to the United States cyber defense posture. One sets the strategy. The other executes it. These roles are complementary, not redundant.
CISA is the operational backbone of federal cybersecurity. It defends critical infrastructure, supports incident response and provides tools and advisories to state, local and private-sector partners. It operates under the Department of Homeland Security.
The ONCD, by contrast, is strategic. It resides in the Executive Office of the President and focuses on national coherence, budget alignment and executive-level coordination across agencies. The two work in close collaboration. They jointly released the Cybersecurity Playbook for Infrastructure Grants and updated the National Cyber Incident Response Plan. Still, without confirmed leaders at either agency, the bridge between policy and execution is fragile.
Sean Cairncross was nominated in February 2025 to serve as National Cyber Director. A seasoned political and government leader, he previously served as CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Deputy Assistant to the President, and Chief Operating Officer of the Republican National Committee. The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. government agency established by Congress in 2004. It provides time-limited, large-scale grants, known as 'compacts', to developing countries that meet strict standards for good governance, economic freedom, and investments in citizens, as measured by 20 independent policy indicators
During the first Trump administration, he also supported the White House through overseas missions, including a 2019 trip with advisor Ivanka Trump to Morocco where he accompanied her to promote the Women's Global Development and Prosperity initiative, met with local leaders and toured olive groves and land empowerment programs. He holds degrees from NYU Law, Cambridge University and American University. While lacking formal technical cybersecurity credentials, Cairncross has emphasized that the National Cyber Director role is about strategic coordination, not engineering: 'If ONCD tries to do everything, it will be ineffective,' he said during his June 5 confirmation hearing.
His nomination has received bipartisan support, including a letter from 24 cybersecurity and national security experts backing his appointment. 'We, the undersigned, strongly endorse the nomination of Sean Cairncross for the position of National Cyber Director,' wrote former director Chris Inglis and 23 other former cyber and national security officials. 'As a group of senior national security experts with decades of experience in both the public and private sectors, we believe his ability to coordinate across federal agencies and execute strategy makes him the right choice,' the letter added. Still, some lawmakers expressed concern. Senators Elissa Slotkin and Andy Kim challenged him on his lack of technical depth and his defense of proposed budget cuts to CISA.
Despite these reservations, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is expected to advance his nomination on June 12th to a full Senate vote, where confirmation appears likely barring broader political complications.
Cairncross is not the only cybersecurity leader awaiting Senate confirmation. Sean Plankey, nominated to lead CISA, also remains unconfirmed. A U.S. Coast Guard veteran and former DHS official, Plankey brings operational cyber expertise that complements Cairncross's policy credentials.
CISA protects civilian infrastructure from attack. If the administration's directive is to streamline and refocus the agency, that initiative still requires leadership. Regardless of one's political view, the absence of confirmed leaders at both ONCD and CISA is unsustainable. Merging the two offices might someday be debated in the interest of efficiency, but that conversation is premature without stable leadership in place.
Cybersecurity is no longer a future problem. It is a current and persistent national security challenge. Threats from hostile states, AI-enabled attacks, cloud infrastructure breaches and election interference are all converging. The new EO provides a policy blueprint, but the blueprint is only as strong as the builders tasked with executing it.
The Senate must now decide whether to confirm Cairncross and Plankey or leave the country's cyber leadership in a state of prolonged uncertainty. These decisions should be guided by pragmatism, not partisanship.
Leadership matters. Strategy matters. Coordination matters. The ONCD may not be a household name, but its influence extends from the Situation Room to hospital networks to the servers powering small businesses across the country. It is time to staff it accordingly.