Trump Considers Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar to Lead CISA as Agency Director Role Remains Vacant

The Trump administration is weighing whether to nominate Palantir Technologies Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, according to two sources familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the administration's search.

Sankar, 44, has emerged as the lead contender for the long-vacant CISA director role, the sources said. He has worked at Miami-based Palantir for more than 20 years, serving as the firm's chief operating officer for nearly 17 years before taking on the CTO position in 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile.

CISA has not had a Senate-confirmed director since Biden-era appointee Jen Easterly stepped down in January 2025. The agency has since been led by Acting Director Nick Andersen, who took over in February.

The previous nominee for the role, Sean Plankey, withdrew his name from consideration in April after key senators blocked a confirmation vote for several months, leaving the agency in an extended period of leadership uncertainty.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin signaled Wednesday that a nomination is imminent, telling lawmakers, "We've got a person, soon to be nominated, that will be running CISA, that has the ability to recruit and focus on the authorities we have. We want CISA to be the leader in cybersecurity. They should be and they will be."

Palantir has cultivated deep ties with the Trump administration and has positioned itself as a significant enterprise and defense AI provider. The possible nomination comes days after the administration released an artificial intelligence executive order on Tuesday — one that named CISA as among the key agencies charged with implementing the president's vision on AI.

That executive order scaled back an earlier iteration that was shelved after the administration's former AI and crypto czar David Sacks warned the president it could threaten American competitiveness and innovation. The final version shortened a voluntary government review period for AI models to 30 days from a proposed 90.

CISA is expected to release a binding operational directive by Friday outlining steps other federal agencies must take to advance the order.

Sankar had previously been considered for a senior research and engineering role at the Pentagon. In a February opinion piece, he argued that AI should reduce bureaucratic friction rather than add to it. "AI should eliminate bureaucracy, not add to it," he wrote. "No new compliance theater. No 'AI governance' committees designed to slow things down and centralize power in 'managers.' AI should empower the American worker to move faster, not slow him down."

The potential nomination also comes against a backdrop of heightened concern in government circles over AI-enabled cybersecurity threats. Weeks ago, Anthropic's Mythos platform surfaced as a technology capable of detecting and targeting zero-day vulnerabilities without human intervention, reinforcing the urgency around both offensive and defensive AI applications.

CISA has faced workforce and budget cuts since Trump began his second term, underscoring the stakes attached to whoever ultimately leads the agency. The White House, DHS, and Sankar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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