Top cybersecurity official exits for TSA role amid recent cyber office reductions

Ryan Donaghy, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency official who held acting director roles in two of the cyberdefense agency’s divisions, is transitioning to the Transportation Security Administration, according to two people familiar with the matter and an internal email viewed by Nextgov/FCW.

Donaghy most recently served as acting executive assistant director for the Infrastructure Security Division and acting assistant director of the Stakeholder Engagement Division. Both offices have undergone major workforce reductions in recent weeks.

Once hailed as a bipartisan success story, CISA — the federal government’s main civilian cyberdefense agency — has become a political flashpoint. The Trump administration has vowed to “refocus” its mission amid Republican claims that CISA helped suppress free speech through past collaborations with social media companies to counter falsehoods about elections, COVID-19 and other divisive issues.

The move may illustrate how political and structural pressures are reshaping the agency’s workforce. Across the Department of Homeland Security, where CISA is housed, employees have been largely marked for reassignments to agencies focused on the Trump administration’s border security and deportation work, Nextgov/FCW previously reported. Around a third of CISA’s workforce has been terminated or offered deferred resignations since the start of this year.

Donaghy has held several leadership assignments in the cyber agency, including chief of metrics and analysis within the Office of Infrastructure Protection, senior data scientist in the National Risk Management Center and deputy chief for chemical security policy, rulemaking and engagement.

“We thank Ryan for her years of service to CISA and are grateful for her commitment to public service,” agency acting director Madhu Gottumukkala said in the agencywide email sent Thursday.

It’s not clear if Donaghy, who has been at the cyber agency since 2016, voluntarily moved to TSA or was given transfer orders. She did not immediately return a request for comment. Nextgov/FCW has also reached out to CISA for comment.

CISA’s Stakeholder Engagement unit oversees the agency’s national and international partnership work. Nearly all employees in the stakeholder office were terminated earlier this month, Cybersecurity Dive previously reported.

The Infrastructure Security division is widely considered a core agency office that helps protect against risks to infrastructure like power grids and water treatment plants. But the Trump administration has deemed some sub-branches of that division as defunct. The Chemical Security subdivision, namely, is expected to phase out a number of initiatives and programs, per DHS budget justification documents released in May.

GovExec Editor-in-Chief Frank Konkel contributed to this report.