U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin arrives to testify before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Homeland Security in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He told lawmakers that he wants approximately 600 more people than it has now, which would still be well below personnel numbers prior to Trump’s second term.
Sean Plankey, of Pennsylvania, responds to questioning during Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearings to examine his nomination to be Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, of the Department of Homeland Security, in the Dirksen Senate office building, in Washington, DC, on Wednesday July 24, 2025. (Mattie Neretin/CNP/Sipa USA)
Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-ll., speaks during an oversight forum with Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 22, 2025. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
She replaces Rep. Eric Swalwell following his resignation, giving her the position of ranking member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection.
Sean Plankey, of Pennsylvania, responds to questioning during Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearings to examine his nomination to be Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, of the Department of Homeland Security, in the Dirksen Senate office building, in Washington, DC, on Wednesday July 24, 2025. (Mattie Neretin/CNP/Sipa USA)
The move adds to mounting pressure on a scholarship program already strained by hiring freezes, proposed budget cuts and a growing backlog of unplaced graduates.
Then-Millenium challenge corporation CEO Sean Cairncross speaks during a ceremony on Aug. 5, 2019 at the presidential palace in Abidjan. (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP) (Photo credit should read ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)
The national cyber director is pitching an approach that blends cyber operations with diplomacy, law enforcement and pressure on CEOs to shore up their organizations.