Senator Wyden Delays Trump CISA Nominee Over Telecom Security Concerns

Senator Ron Wyden has placed a hold on the nomination of Sean Plankey to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), citing concerns over a 'multi-year cover up' of security vulnerabilities in the U.S. telecommunications sector. Wyden has repeatedly urged CISA to release an unclassified report from 2022 detailing these vulnerabilities, which he believes the public has a right to access. He links the report to recent breaches by the Chinese hacking group known as Salt Typhoon, which exploited these security flaws, impacting several U.S. telecom providers. Wyden's hold means Senate Republican leaders may need to either delay the vote or pursue a more complex approval process for Plankey's nomination. This tactic is consistent with Wyden's past efforts to leverage nomination holds to secure information from federal agencies. CISA and the White House have not yet commented on the situation.