Sean Plankey, the long-sidelined nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, asked President Donald Trump on Wednesday to withdraw his nomination.

“At this point in time, I am asking the President to remove my nomination from consideration,” he said in a notification letter seen by CyberScoop. “After thirteen months since my initial nomination, it has become clear that the Senate will not confirm me.”

Plankey’s request comes weeks after the Senate confirmed MarkWayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security, CISA’s parent agency.

“The Nation and Department of Homeland Security Secretary MarkWayne Mullin requires a confirmed director of CISA without further delay,” Plankey wrote, adding thanks to Trump himself. “While I humbly request the removal of my nomination, I wholeheartedly support President Trump’s upcoming nomination for CISA and look forward to the continued success of the United States of America.”

Plankey’s nomination was considered dead by most at the end of last year. His renomination this year caught many by surprise, with CBS reporting the paperwork filing was an accident. The White House denied that.

Numerous senators had placed holds on his nomination, including GOP senators who held him up over matters unrelated to cybersecurity. Most prominently, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla, had placed a hold on his nomination over a Coast Guard contract with a Florida company that DHS had partially canceled.

Plankey had been serving as an adviser to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Coast Guard matters. He retired from the Coast Guard last month.

While Plankey awaited confirmation, Bridget Bean, then Madhu Gottumukkala, served as acting director. Gottumukkala recently left the position for another at DHS amid widespread complaints about his leadership. Nick Andersen is currently serving as acting director.

Plankey told CyberScoop he had discussed withdrawing his nomination with Mullin. He said he has a “positive relationship” with Mullin and supported his leadership of DHS. And Plankey called Andersen “one of the most competent cybersecurity people in the country.”

Politico first reported Plankey’s withdrawal request. The White House and CISA did not respond to an official request for comment. When asked for a comment, a DHS spokesperson said the department doesn’t comment on personnel matters.

Plankey’s plans leave the agency with yet more upheaval. Trump has dramatically cut personnel and budget at CISA, with many top officials pushed out or otherwise departing. He has proposed deeper budget cuts still for fiscal year 2027.

Updated 4/22/26: to include DHS response.

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Sean Plankey’s nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency looks to be over following his exclusion from a Senate vote Thursday to move forward on a panel of Trump administration picks.

Multiple senators placed holds or threatened holds on his nomination, some related to cybersecurity. But the hold from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., appeared to be the biggest hurdle. With Plankey’s exclusion from the resolution to advance a bevy of nominees that got a key vote Thursday, procedural issues make it unlikely that he will be the nominee going forward, sources told CyberScoop. The administration would have to re-submit his name for nomination next year.

Scott’s hold was related to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem partially terminating a Coast Guard cutter program contract with Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group, multiple sources told CyberScoop. The Government Accountability Office issued a critical report on the program.

While awaiting confirmation, Plankey, a 13-year Coast Guard officer, has been serving as senior adviser to the secretary for the Coast Guard. 

A spokesperson for Scott did not respond to a request for comment Thursday, and did not confirm information about his hold when asked for comment in recent weeks.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., also had said he would place a hold on Plankey’s nomination until CISA released an unclassified report on telecommunications network security. CISA said in July it would release the report, but as of Thursday, the agency had not publicly done so.

North Carolina’s GOP senators, Ted Budd and Thom Tillis, also had placed a hold on DHS nominees over disaster relief funding for the state.

A single senator’s ability to hold up the nomination process made Plankey’s inclusion in a broader package  his best chance for advancing.

Plankey’s nomination had broad backing within the cybersecurity community. Backers have frequently called on the Senate to confirm him for CISA director.

Some Democratic senators voted against his nomination after a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in July, however, where he faced tough questions from them about election security and the slashed workforce at the agency.

Bridget Bean, since departed from CISA, and Deputy Director Madhu Gottumukkala have served as acting director of the agency since the departure of Jen Easterly in January as the Biden administration ended. The agency is poised to go without a Senate-confirmed leader heading into a year where the Trump administration plans to kick off implementation of a national cybersecurity strategy.

The Trump administration has pulled back a historic number of nominees so far this year. But the Senate in September also confirmed 48 nominees all at once following a rules change intended to overcome Democratic objections to his picks.

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