Personal debts said to scuttle nomination of Biden’s acting cyber director

WASHINGTON – The acting White House National Cyber Director was told in recent weeks she would not be considered to serve in a permanent role, despite endorsements from key lawmakers from both parties and her predecessor, because of personal debt issues that would make her difficult to confirm, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Kemba Walden, who has been acting director since mid-February, was told five weeks ago that her high debt load would create an opportunity for senators to “give her a rough time,” said one person, who like others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

The reason given to Walden stunned friends and colleagues who heard about it. They said she was eminently qualified and pointed to her shepherding of an implementation plan for the new national cyberstrategy in just six weeks. She has received endorsements from the Congressional Black Caucus, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) as well as former national cyber director Chris Inglis, who was the first to hold the position and retired in February after delivering the national strategy.

Walden and her husband, a lawyer at the Commerce Department, have two young children in private school and a mortgage – not unlike many middle-class Americans, said the person, a friend who does not work at the White House. “She’s a public servant. He’s a public servant,” said the friend. “They don’t have generational wealth. They’ve taken on debt to put their kids to private school. And most importantly, they pay their bills. If the requirement to take a job like this is that you have to be independently wealthy, then it will be a poorer place because you’ll be cutting out a lot of great talent.”

On Friday, Walden told the Washington Post she recently withdrew from consideration for the nomination. She declined to comment further. Walden is also one of the few Black women leaders in the field.

“She intends to continue in the acting position and remains focused on making the digital ecosystem more secure, defensible and aligned with our values,” said Michael Morris, a spokesman for the office.

In a statement to The Post, White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons expressed appreciation for Walden’s service. “Acting National Cyber Director Kemba Walden has demonstrated strong leadership overseeing the Office of the National Cyber Director,” Simons said. “The Biden-Harris Administration – and the American people – greatly appreciate Acting Director Walden’s vision and service advancing national security, economic prosperity, and technological innovation.”

An administration official, speaking in general terms, said: “The vetting process is to help assess whether a candidate has any issues that would prove disqualifying in a Senate confirmation process. … It’s all done towards the ultimate goal of getting someone confirmed.”

The White House’s preferred choice is Harry Coker, a former top official at the CIA and National Security Agency, who is also well-regarded, according to two people. Coker, who is Black, is undergoing the vetting process now, they said. The White House declined to comment on the reason for Walden’s departure or her potential replacement.

The Biden White House also has a deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, Anne Neuberger, who is not Senate-confirmed.

Experts in the arcane rules and practices of presidential nominee vetting said passing over a qualified candidate due to personal debt is highly unusual. “I’ve never heard of that one before,” said a lawyer who practices in the area and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

“If she’s actually paying the debt or hasn’t defaulted on the debt, I think it would be very unusual to be held up because of that,” the lawyer said.

Walden has a security clearance, which requires a scrub for unusually high debt that could expose a person to blackmail or recruitment by a foreign agent. After being hired as Inglis’s deputy, Walden filed a form with the Office of Government Ethics known as a Form-278 disclosing income, credit card debt, gifts, loans and her spouse’s income.

“If this is actually an issue for nominations going forward, it’s going to really put stress on what you disclose and how you deal with personal liabilities,” the lawyer said. “So if this becomes well known, it’s going to have a ripple effect through the Senate confirmation process.”

The Office of the National Cyber Director was created by Congress in 2021 to advise the president on cybersecurity policy and strategy and make it more difficult for a president to eliminate the position on a whim. It was recommended by the bipartisan Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which was co-chaired by King and Gallagher, after President Trump fired his top White House cyber policy adviser and eliminated the position.

Inglis tapped Walden to be his principal deputy a year ago. She had worked as a lawyer handling cyber issues at Microsoft for three years, and before that, as an attorney at the Department of Homeland Security for nearly a decade.

The Record, an online cybersecurity publication, first reported that Walden was told she would not become the permanent national cyber director.

As acting director, Walden oversaw the rollout of the administration’s national cyber strategy. This week she released its implementation plan. She has spearheaded the development of the first National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy, which is expected to be released shortly. And last month she issued guidance with the White House budget director to all federal agencies on aligning their 2025 cybersecurity spending with the cyber strategy’s priorities.

Walden had important advocates on Capitol Hill. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (Miss.), the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, penned a letter in May signed by 31 of his colleagues urging Biden to nominate her, citing past experience and successes as acting director.

“Ms. Walden has a proven track record of leadership, and her contributions to cybersecurity are well-documented,” the letter states. “Already, she has proven herself to be an effective champion of the White House’s cybersecurity agenda.”

Inglis notified the White House eight months ago that he intended to retire after delivering the national cyber strategy. At the White House’s request, he said, he provided criteria for the director’s position and a list of people he’d recommend.

The White House delay in nominating a permanent director is troubling, lawmakers and the business community said.

“We are concerned that the delay in nominating a candidate for the National Cyber Director role could impede the great work accomplished under Director Inglis and Acting Director Walden, hinder the implementation of the National Cyber Strategy, and jeopardize the effectiveness of the ONCD,” said a coalition of industry and advocacy groups, and nonprofit cyber organizations, in a letter to Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients this week. The signatories include the Cybersecurity Coalition, BSA/The Software Alliance, Information Technology Industry Council and Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law.

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The Washington Post’s Alice Crites contributed to this report.