END OF AN ERA — Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), one of the leading Republican voices on cybersecurity on the Hill, plans to step away from Congress at the end of his term. And the four-term congressman’s departure sets up a major leadership shuffle on cyber issues on the House side. — Why it matters: Gallagher has been a go-to Republican on cyber matters in the House, acting as congressional co-lead to the influential Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2.0 alongside Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), and as an active chair to both the House Armed Services cyber subcommittee and the House Select China Communist Party committee. As the House's leading advocate for military cyber additions in the National Defense Authorization Act, Gallagher spearheaded key priorities like protecting mobility systems from cyber threats and studying whether the Pentagon needs its own cyber office. His exit leaves King as the last man standing from the original CSC — a congressional group which sunsetted in 2022 — following the retirement of former Rep. Jim Langevin and Sen. Ben Sasse. The CSC and its private-public successor CSC 2.0 have driven most major cyber legislation on the Hill since 2020, which includes the creation of the Office of the National Cyber Director. “Mike Gallagher has had a major impact on the cybersecurity legislation that has moved through Congress, he has a lot to be proud of,” Langevin told Morning Cyber. “So the work will continue, and be much more challenging without Mike there.” — What comes next: Gallagher’s impending exit leaves a significant vacuum in GOP cyber expertise on the Hill at a critical policy juncture. With Gallagher as the main driver behind cyber military provisions in the NDAA, critical issues he's pushed – such as securing ports and rails from cyberattacks, exploring a cyber office at the Pentagon and spotlighting cyber threats through prominent hearings – will need new Republican champions going forward. “This will make 2024 an especially important year for cyber,” CSC 2.0 executive director Mark Montgomery tells MC on Gallagher’s departure. That includes Gallagher serving as a counterweight to far-right Republicans pushing to defund CISA over anti-censorship talks (more on this later). — Who’s up: Even though filling Gallagher’s shoes won’t be easy, his retirement looks to accelerate the rise of newer Republican voices on cyber like Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), who chairs the House Homeland Security cyber subcommittee, and Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), according to Montgomery. Freshman Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), a former White House cyber director, has also expressed interest in leading on cyber policy, with his office telling Morning Cyber he “would be happy to consider any opportunities that become available” due to the retirement. — Not close to over yet: We’re watching for some movement on legislation to come out of the Select China committee, with ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) telling reporters the recent high-profile hearing with the government’s top cyber leaders on threats from China served as a catalyst for renewed focus on bipartisan efforts to combat hackers. It also jump-started a conversation between Krishnamoorthi and Gallagher on pushing forward their bipartisan bill that would funnel unused federal Covid-19 funds into replacing Chinese tech in U.S. telecom systems due to concerns about potential spying. Gallagher has said the committee is working to advance around 20 previously published recommendations aimed at strengthening defenses against Chinese cyber threats. And “definitely” watch for the efforts to improve cybersecurity for critical infrastructure that facilitates military mobility before the year ends, Montgomery said. BLAST FROM THE PAST — As House Speaker Mike Johnson eyes a potential floor vote this week on a revised Section 702 spy powers bill, Republican House candidate Joe Kent on Sunday tweeted out screenshots of a 2008 news article that made it seem like he thought Democrats were currently in charge of deciding what to do on FISA and wanted a secret debate on the issue, our Daniel Lippman writes in. “House Democrats want a closed door ‘secret’ session to justify FISA warrantless spying on Americans,” Kent, a retired Green Beret who’s running for a second time in Washington state, posted on X. “If there was a common sense reason for FISA they’d argue for it in front of the American ppl. Given the natsec state’s record, why should we give them our blind trust?” Reached for comment, Kent said in a brief interview that he “should have been more clear” when he included the old Roll Call article that it was about a past debate in Congress. Soon after POLITICO reached out for comment — and five hours after the original post — Kent tweeted a follow-up: “The article below in the original post is from 2008, when FISA violations of our civil liberties were debated behind closed doors. FISA will likely be debated again this week, hopefully in front of the American people.
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