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US President Joe Biden has nominated a new leader for the joint position of heading up the US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.
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Air Force Lieutenant General Timothy Haugh has been tapped for the job, and if confirmed, will take over from Army General Paul Nakasone, who has held the position since 2018.
The notice of nomination was sent out this week and was confirmed to Politico by an anonymous Air Force official. The nomination to the role will also include a promotion, bumping Haugh up to four-star general.
Lt Gen Haugh is currently serving as Cyber Command’s deputy commander, has previously led Air Force Cyber, and has been a director of the Cyber National Mission Force.
His nomination may face some strong headwinds, however, chief among them a tussle over the Pentagon’s policy of paying service members to travel in order to access abortions. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville is currently blocking a long list of nominees — both military and civilian — in protest over the policy.
“Normally, a Republican on the Armed Services Committee can see the big picture, that if even our national security becomes subject to the culture wars, then that’s bad for the country,” Democratic Senator Brian Schatz told Politico. “But, you know, his superpower is shamelessness.”
Another issue that Lt Gen Haugh may face is that GEN Nakasone is still very popular in the position and that many senators simply don’t know Lt Gen Haugh well enough. GEN Nakasone’s support of cyber operations in Ukraine and his work on combating election interference have won him support from both sides of the aisle during his four-year tenure.
