Acting CISA chief sought ouster of agency's chief information officer
Source: Politico
01/18/2026 08:00 PM EST
The acting head of the country’s civilian cyber defense agency took steps last Thursday to remove the agency’s chief information officer — but was blocked after other political appointees at the department objected, according to three officials with knowledge of the matter. The attempted ouster of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s CIO, Robert Costello, comes as CISA’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, already faces questions inside the agency about his decision-making.
Both career staff and even fellow Trump appointees first grew alarmed about Gottumukkala, the former CIO of South Dakota, over his handling of a failed polygraph exam in July, as POLITICO first reported. At least six career staff who helped schedule the test were suspended with pay after the exam, which DHS has characterized as “unsanctioned.”
The personnel spat began late last Thursday afternoon after Costello was given a so-called management-directed reassignment, meaning he had roughly one week to decide whether to move to another part of the Department of Homeland Security — which houses CISA — or resign, said the people. All three were granted anonymity for fear of retribution.
Other senior political appointees at the department, including Nick Anderson, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, were not given a heads-up about the decision and were not happy with it, said the people. They immediately “raised hell” and questioned the justification for Costello’s surprise ejection from the agency, said the first of the three officials.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/18/acting-cisa-chief-sought-ouster-of-agencys-chief-information-officer-00735826?utm_medium=bluesky&utm_source=dlvr.it
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143586282
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