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'Just Be Honest About It': Elissa Slotkin Lays Into Trump Cyber Nom, Warns Cuts Could Lead To 'Cyber 9/11'
Forbes Breaking News
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6/5/2025
During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) questioned Sean Cairncross, President Trump's nominee to be National Cyber Director, about cuts to cybersecurity programs, and threats facing the United States.
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00:00
Thank you, Chairman, and thank you for your intervention after Senator Hassan.
00:07
Welcome to all of you. I did a confirmation hearing like this many, many, many moons ago,
00:11
a group one, and I was the only one who got questions. So for those of you who are getting
00:15
less questions, you're getting off really easy, and you should thank your fellow peers here on
00:20
the dais afterwards. Let me start on cybersecurity. You know, as a former CIA officer, I feel like
00:29
we all know that cyber attacks are increasing. In your own words, attacks are increasing. They're
00:35
becoming more sophisticated. They're becoming more prevalent. And then with the use of AI,
00:41
they're becoming much more smart, much more capable. But if you are confirmed, you will oversee the
00:47
single biggest cut in cybersecurity dollars, a $495 million cut to cybersecurity. And I know that
00:55
the president has it out for certain members of the cybersecurity community of his own administration
01:00
from the first time. But the truth is, you're cutting programs that help our state and locals,
01:05
like the state of Michigan, actually defend against these things. Our infrastructure, it's really my
01:10
power companies who have come to me and said, we used to get quarterly updates from CISA and get a
01:15
sense of like the threat picture across the country. Now we don't have that. We feel vulnerable.
01:20
I really feel like the United States is in a situation with cyber the way we were with terrorism
01:26
before 9-11. Terrorism attacks were happening. Some people watched them, but they really didn't enter
01:32
in a huge way the American consciousness until we had a spectacular attack. And I am deeply worried that
01:40
we're going to have a spectacular cyber attack. And you're going to be left holding the bag. I mean,
01:45
you're here. They pulled the nomination of the other guy on cyber from this panel. You're the head
01:50
guy. So help me understand, in honestly, in a way that speaks to the average person who's like a
01:57
principal of a K-12 school whose kid's data is being ransomed. How can you justify a nearly $500 million
02:07
cut on cybersecurity given what you yourself just said?
02:10
Well, Senator, I think to your point, the vast majority of cyber defense in this country falls
02:17
on the private sector. And so one of the key elements that I see...
02:21
Not my K-12 schools, not my public hospitals, not the utilities.
02:27
And state and local, territorial and tribal are extremely important, as we were chatting about
02:33
earlier.
02:34
And that's what affects the average American, right? That's what they all know. We have a cyber attack
02:38
once every 39 seconds in America. So everyone in this room has had someone try to get their data.
02:44
Senator, the University of Michigan, the health care system, schools in your state alone, I mean,
02:49
the members of this panel have had tens of millions, hundreds of millions. Florida, I think,
02:54
is over a billion dollars.
02:55
So explain a cut. I mean, just be honest about it. You can't say you care about an increasing and
03:00
more sophisticated set of attacks while cutting the very people who help defend against those attacks.
03:05
And I want to do offensive cyber. I want to make them feel pain for the Russians and the Chinese
03:10
that are launching these attacks. I'm there with you. I will add money there. But you can't add by
03:15
subtracting. And I think we just have to own that, that the petty desires of the president are going
03:21
to leave us more vulnerable. And you're going to be the guy, if we have our cyber 9-11, you're going
03:26
to be the guy who's sitting there saying, oh, holy crap, we just cut all this money. And I just had
03:32
all the power go out on the eastern seaboard. Or the Chinese stole a whole bunch of our personal
03:36
data from every hospital and every school. So I just, let's not pretend that a cut actually helps
03:43
defend against what you agree is an increasing set of attacks. I just want to ask in my short
03:48
time, I'll leave you alone. I know I'll move to the next guy.
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