Army secretary removes former CISA director from new role at West Point after far-right backlash
A person familiar with the move, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Wednesday that Driscoll is looking to assert more control over the hiring process at West Point, and that Easterly was recommended by a West Point alumni association group. The person also noted that the role only involved a handful of lectures on campus each year; the Chair is not a full-time teaching position and any costs incurred are not paid for by West Point or the Army.
The Washington Speakers Bureau, which represents Easterly in speaking engagements, did not respond to a request for comment. Easterly is a graduate of West Point and served in the Army for two decades before taking on a role on the National Security Council under the Obama administration, and later being confirmed by the Senate to lead CISA in 2021.
'At the time of graduation, I actually had little intention to stay in the Army past my five-year commitment, but I fell in love with being a soldier and a life of service to the nation,' Easterly wrote on LinkedIn last month as part of a post on the anniversary of her graduation from West Point.
The decision came hours after far-right activist Laura Loomer posted on X Tuesday night, tagging Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, that the hiring process at West Point was 'horrendous.'
Loomer cited Easterly's leadership of CISA at the time that the Department of Homeland Security, which CISA is under, decided to hire Nina Jankowicz as president of the Disinformation Governance Board, which was disbanded in 2022 after accusations of partisan bias from conservative media and Republicans.
Following Driscoll's decision to remove Easterly on Wednesday, Loomer posted on X that 'this is the way,' and that 'all Biden holdovers must be removed from the Trump administration.'
Other far-right influencers were vocal on X following Loomer's first post. These included Wade Miller, a senior adviser at the Center for Renewing America, a think tank founded by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought; and Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of conservative publication The Federalist.
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