CISA acting director moved to new DHS role
Gottumukkala will now serve as director of strategic implementation at DHS, which houses the cyberdefense agency. Nick Andersen, who has served as the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, will now be the agency’s acting director, added the official.
The DHS official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the new roles. Andersen did not immediately return a request for comment. ABC News first reported on the personnel moves.
Gottumukkala has recently been the subject of several unflattering Politico reports, including one describing a failed counterintelligence polygraph exam, another noting that he uploaded sensitive files into ChatGPT and a third describing how he was involved in an initial reassignment order for CISA Chief Information Officer Bob Costello in January.
Costello was again handed reassignment orders recently, per Thursday reporting.
The new roles come as CISA has lost much of its workforce to a slew of efforts the Trump administration undertook in the last year to reduce purported government bloat and spending waste. Former officials and other observers have pushed back on some of those cuts.
The cyberdefense agency still does not have a permanent director. The Trump administration renominated Sean Plankey for that role earlier this year after his initial nomination lapsed at the close of 2025.
A senior DHS official said Gottumukkala “has done a remarkable job in a thankless task of helping reform CISA back to its core statutory mission” and that “he will continue his work to save taxpayer money” in his new role. The senior official also said the Trump administration is looking forward to Plankey’s confirmation.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to add comments from a senior DHS official.
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