This morning, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned Sean Plankey—President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—and secured his pledge to refocus the agency on protecting America’s critical infrastructure instead of propping up Biden-era government censorship.
“Let me just read some of the euphemisms that your predecessor used to talk about CISA’s mission in the censorship effort: ‘narrative control,’ ‘perception management’—’information integrity’ is my favorite,” Senator Hawley said. “You’re telling me that you’re going to get CISA out of the business of policing ‘narrative control?'” the Senator asked, to which Plankey affirmed.
Watch the full exchange here.
Senator Hawley reminded Plankey and his Senate colleagues of the gross First Amendment abuses Americans faced online under the direction of the Biden Administration’s CISA. The agency’s wide-ranging censorship shut down posts about “COVID-19, vaccines, elections, school-board meetings.”
Breaking with his Biden-era predecessors, Plankey assured the Senator that “it is not CISA’s job, and nor is it in its authorities, to censor or determine the truths, whether it be on social media or at any level of media.” If confirmed for the role, Plankey said he would, “like to focus CISA on what it’s mandated to do and that’s protect the federal civilian executive branch, as well as protect the critical infrastructure of the United States.”