Trump moves to nominate Indo-Pacific Command deputy to helm NSA, Cyber Command

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Deputy Chief Army Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd has been recommended by President Donald Trump to helm the dual-hat role of spearheading the National Security Agency and the Cyber Command over eight months after the firing of Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh and his deputy, Wendy Noble, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Despite the absence of a formal announcement for a nomination, Rudd has been listed in the Congressional Record for an unnamed promotion while being referred to the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees. While Rudd, who had led the Special Operations Command Pacific before his INDOPACM post, lacks adequate cyberwarfare or intelligence knowledge, such inexperience should not be a deterrent to being nominated to lead NSA and Cybercom, according to Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees.

Meanwhile, Senate Intelligence Committee's top Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia noted that nominations to lead NSA and Cybercom should not have taken so long amid mounting nation-state and cybercriminal threats.