Bad blood complicates pool for Trump's cyber nominees

Between the lines: The pool of Republican cybersecurity policy experts is splattered in bad blood.

• Chris Krebs, the first-ever director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was famously fired by tweet after he said the 2020 election was safe and secure. His deputy, Matthew Travis, resigned three days later.
• Krebs' staffers, who would typically be considered to lead the agency, are unlikely to return after witnessing such retribution, a former Trump official who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive transition conversations told Axios.
• Top national security advisers, including John Bolton and Tom Bossert, were either fired or reportedly pushed out.
• Rudy Giuliani, the president-elect's cyber adviser in the first term, is embroiled in many legal battles and had a falling out with Trump after he lost the 2020 election.

What they're saying: "There's an extraordinarily thin bench of people," the former Trump official told Axios. "We'll probably be surprised with some outside picks that will come in."

• "We're going to see a whole new crop of people emerge."

The big picture: Cyber pros are watching to see who Trump picks for several high-profile positions, including:

• Director of CISA.
• National cyber director.
• Cyber adviser in the White House's National Security Council.
• U.S. ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy.
• Any cyber-focused undersecretary and assistant secretary roles across the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and other offices.

Reality check: Trump has already proven he's throwing out the D.C. playbook for choosing political nominees this time around.

• Two Fox News hosts have been tapped for cabinet positions.
• Dr. Oz, a TV show personality, was picked to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
• Linda McMahon, a co-lead of the transition team and former WWE executive, is the nominee to run the Department of Education, despite having limited education experience.

Zoom in: Even some of the government names left on the thin list are out of the box — or a long shot.

• Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has been angling to run CISA, according to Politico. He's not well known in federal circles, but as a state election administrator, he has worked closely with CISA on its election security efforts.
• Lucian Niemeyer, a former DoD assistant secretary focused on energy policy, has also been pushing for a senior-level cyber position. But he's only been working in cybersecurity since leaving the government in 2021.

• Sources have also floated that Joshua Steinman, a former NSC staffer in the Trump administration, could come back for a more prominent White House cyber job. But he currently lives in Los Angeles, and it's unclear if he'll want to move back to Washington and leave the startup he co-founded.

Yes, but: Trump still has a handful of Republican cyber experts who are eager to return, the former official said.

• Rob Strayer, former deputy assistant secretary of state for cyber in the first Trump administration, is a top contender for the new cyber ambassador role.
• Matt Hayden, former assistant secretary for cyber at DHS, is also a top contender for a high-profile cyber role.
• Sean Plankey, a former Trump NSC official and Department of Energy cyber official, could also return.
• Karen S. Evans, who ran the Energy Department's cyber office in the first Trump administration, is also a strong contender. But her government experience makes her qualified for a litany of positions, including those not focused solely on cybersecurity, the former official noted.

What we're watching: Elon Musk has become a go-to Trump adviser — even going as far as sitting in on calls between the president-elect and tech executives, according to The Information.

• VP-elect JD Vance also has strong ties with Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, who is connected to the cybersecurity industry.