Trump taps RNC executive as national cyber director
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Sean Cairncross speaks onstage during the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit in September 2019. Photo: Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit
President Donald Trump is nominating RNC executive Sean Cairncross as his national cyber director, according to a list of new administration nominations obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: This is the first significant cybersecurity nomination of the Trump administration, and if approved, Cairncross would play a key role in the administration's cyber policymaking and response to major cyberattacks.
The big picture: Congress established the White House's Office of the National Cyber Director right before former President Joe Biden took office.
- The office, which has more than 80 employees, is designed to be the president's principal adviser on cybersecurity matters.
- However, because the office is so new, it's been unclear what precise role it has in advising the president on cybersecurity matters — especially since the White House's national security council has historically taken up that responsibility.
- Previous directors have helped craft the president's national cyber strategy, published white papers on security topics and convened industry stakeholders for specific policy forums.
- Only two other people have been confirmed to the role: Chris Inglis and Harry Coker Jr. — both of whom came up through the National Security Agency.
Zoom in: Cairncross' name is among a long list of nominees that the White House has sent to Congress, according to the document dated Tuesday.
- Cairncross was previously the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a foreign aid agency that works with developing countries on economic growth and to reduce poverty, and a former deputy assistant to the president in the first Trump administration.
- Most recently, Cairncross has been the RNC's chief operating officer and was brought in last year to help monitor the party's financials leading up to the November election. He also worked at the RNC during the 2016 campaign.
- It doesn't appear that Cairncross has held any previous cybersecurity positions.
- The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Politico first reported on Cairncross' nomination.
The intrigue: While Cairncross is the first significant cyber nominee, he appears to be the second major security hire at the White House.
- Last week, Politico reported that Alexei Bulazel is now the senior director for cyber at the White House's National Security Council.
- Bulazel was the NSC's director for cyber policy during the last year of the first Trump administration, and has held security roles at Oracle and Apple, according to his LinkedIn.
What's next: Cairncross' nomination is a Senate-confirmed position, and he'll have to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee before a vote.
- Trump has also yet to name new leaders at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Go deeper: Bad blood complicates pool for Trump's cyber nominees
