type: timeline_event
The Senate Armed Services Committee held a full committee hearing to consider the nominations of Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd for Director of the National Security Agency, Chief of Central Security Service, and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, along with Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan for Commander of U.S. Southern Command. Rudd, currently deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, largely kept his views on hot-button issues closely held, prompting Republican chair Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) to urge him at one point to be more open about his views.
Rudd claimed limited familiarity with the two-decade debate over "backdoor" searches on Americans, stating in a written questionnaire, "This is an issue I have limited familiarity within my current role with USINDOPACOM." He dodged questions about whether the NSA should participate in President Trump's crackdown on antifa, and when asked about targeting Americans, responded curtly that he would follow the law. Rudd didn't directly answer questions from Sen. Angus King (I-ME) about whether NSA and Cyber Command should develop an offensive cyber deterrence policy against Chinese intrusions into U.S. telecom systems and critical infrastructure, saying "Senator I don't know if that's my role to have that opinion," adding it's his job to develop cyber options that "deliver deterrence."
Trump's nominee for top uniformed cyber chief said he would evaluate the efficiency of the dual-hat leadership role between U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA, with multiple senators questioning him about the two organizations he may inherit and their current leadership structure. The confirmation hearing demonstrates the challenge of congressional oversight when nominees provide minimal substantive commitments beyond pledging to follow existing law, avoiding policy positions that might constrain future executive action while providing senators little basis to reject nominations on substantive grounds.