President Obama on Tuesday nominated Beth Cobert to be permanent director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), just months after the agency’s previous director resigned amid likely the largest government data breach ever.
Cobert has been the agency’s acting director since former OPM head Katherine Archuleta stepped down, bowing to the growing calls for her firing from lawmakers claiming the OPM needed a more tech-savvy leader.
{mosads}With a background in information technology, Cobert has been touted as a leader better capable of righting the OPM’s digital shortcomings.
“Beth will bring tremendous depth and quality of experience to her role as director of the Office of Personnel Management,” Obama said in a statement. “As acting director, Beth has effectively pursued strategies to strengthen cybersecurity and improve the way the government serves citizens, businesses and the federal workforce both past and present.”
The OPM was at the center of intense scrutiny and controversy this summer.
In early June, the agency revealed a major data breach that had exposed over 4 million federal workers’ information. But it quickly came out that a second, far more serious, intrusion had also taken place in the security clearance database, which contains some of the government’s most private information.
Over the course of the next month, the OPM worked to determine the full scale of the breach as lawmakers accused officials of withholding information and refusing to acknowledge the serious cybersecurity deficiencies that had led to the hacks.
In July, the OPM finally concluded that more than 22 million people had been hit by both breaches.
It’s believed China orchestrated the massive digital theft as part of a broader espionage campaign to build a comprehensive database on all U.S. federal workers.
Archuleta resigned the day after the final hack tally was announced. Cobert immediately took over as acting director.
In Cobert’s first few months atop the agency, she has received mostly praise from Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers on Tuesday were quick to express their hopes for her full four-year tenure as OPM chief.
“In my initial meetings with Beth Cobert, she has impressed me as a talented, qualified and competent choice for OPM director,” said House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who was the perhaps the most vocal critic of Archuleta and OPM leadership during a series of hearings on the hacks.
“I am pleased the president has opted for a credible selection this time rather than a political one,” he added.
Cobert has earned her government tech bonafides in several positions.
She started work at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 2013 and worked to streamline the government’s turgid process for acquiring information technology. She also worked with the U.S. Digital Service to improve the government’s online services for Americans.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, worked with Cobert in her role at OMB.
“I find her to be someone who is impressive, decisive, and well-respected on both sides of the aisle in Congress,” he said Thursday. “She is someone who can continue to help lead OPM through this challenging time.”
Cobert has also racked up nearly three decades of private sector experience with McKinsey, a global consultancy.
The Senate has not yet set up a timeline to vote on Cobert’s nomination, but the acting director seems to stand a good chance of getting the upper chamber’s approval.
However, the OPM still faces criticism from Capitol Hill as it works to recover from the hacks.
The agency has been accused of dragging its feet on notifying victims of the hack. It was revealed last week that only a fourth of the people hit had heard from the OPM. Others, like Chaffetz, believe Cobert should replace more of the OPM’s top network security officials.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will use the nomination process to seek more answers on how the administration will rebuild the trust that it can properly secure sensitive data.
“It is my hope that the president will use this opportunity to more thoroughly address the legitimate concerns of the American people regarding the cyberattack at OPM,” he said Tuesday.
“I look forward to hearing the nominee’s ideas for protecting Americans’ private information, for contacting the millions affected by the attack that inexplicably have not yet heard from OPM and ensuring that federal employees are not subject to the threat of another massive hack of their private information.”