Army Secretary forces West Point to rescind appointment given to Easterly
The United States Military Academy abruptly ended the appointment of Jen Easterly to a high-profile academic position in West Point’s Department of Social Sciences, according to a memorandum issued Wednesday by the Secretary of the Army.
On Tuesday, the academy announced that Easterly was named as the next Robert F. McDermott Distinguished Chair, a department position created in 1943 to bring a leading scholar, practitioner, or expert in the fields of social sciences — such as economics, political science, or international relations — to West Point.
In a since-deleted LinkedIn post, the academy welcomed the former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director and academy alumnus after “an extraordinary career of service in the public and private sectors.”
“Director Easterly’s unique perspective — combining military experience, advanced academic training, private sector innovation, and senior government service — makes her ideally suited to guide discussions on the critical issues facing our nation and the world.”
After the announcement, far-right activist Laura Loomer suggested on X that Easterly should not be named to the position, due to her work under the Biden administration, allegedly with Nina Jankowicz, who served as the executive director of the Disinformation Governance Board of the United States. (Jankowicz later Wednesday posted on BlueSky that she had never worked with Easterly.)
On Wednesday, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll announced in a post on X that the position would be rescinded, and a full review of the academy’s hiring practices would be conducted.
“The Secretary of the Army took immediate action to direct West Point to terminate the service agreement with Jen Easterly, pause outside groups from selecting Academy employees or instructors, and has requested a review of West Point’s hiring practices,” an Army spokesperson told CyberScoop. “Ahead of the upcoming academic year, we are crafting a deliberate approach to ensure that our future officers are best prepared to meet the demands of the modern battlefield.”
When asked for comment, the academy pointed CyberScoop to the Office of the Secretary of the Army.
Typically a temporary or rotating position, the McDermott Distinguished Chair is often held by a civilian academic or prominent government or industry leader for a set term, with a goal to expose cadets to accomplished leaders for academic and professional development. Prior to Easterly’s appointment, Douglas Lute, a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, served in the position.
The revocation is the second incident since the Trump administration assumed power in which current officials reprimanded former CISA directors for their work. In April, President Donald Trump revoked the security clearance of former CISA leader Chris Krebs, with the White House saying he was a “significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his government authority” during his time leading the agency.
Attempts to reach Easterly for comment were unsuccessful.
