The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Monday advanced the nomination of Christopher Krebs, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security's National Protection and Programs Directorate, The Hill reports.
Krebs' nomination will now go before the full Senate.
Krebs, who currently serves as acting undersecretary, had a positive hearing with the committee last week and pledged to make election security his "top priority" if confirmed. Forty-eight former Department of Homeland Security-DHS and cybersecurity officials also expressed support for his nomination and urged the Senate to "confirm him as soon as possible."
The NPPD is responsible for guarding federal networks and critical infrastructure from cyber and physical threats. Krebs previously worked on Microsoft's government affairs team and earlier in his career served as a policy advisor to DHS during the George W. Bush administration.
Cybersecurity remains a big topic ahead of this year's midterm elections, and U.S. intelligence agencies earlier this year warned Russia plans to continue meddling in the country's elections after a multipronged effort to interfere two years ago, including attempts to hack into the election systems of 21 states.
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