GOP senator: Trump shouldn’t fire top cybersecurity official

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said on Tuesday that Christopher Krebs, a top cybersecurity official, shouldn’t be fired, shortly after President Trump ousted him. 

“Chris Krebs did a really good job — as state election officials all across the nation will tell you — and he obviously should not be fired,” Sasse, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

Trump announced via tweet on Tuesday that he had fired Krebs, saying a recent statement by the cyber chief about the security of the election was “highly inaccurate.” 

Trump also claimed, without evidence, that “there were massive improprieties and fraud — including dead people voting.” Trump’s legal team has launched a myriad of challenges in key states where Trump is trailing President-elect Joe Biden with little success. 

Krebs had served as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the Department of Homeland Security since CISA’s establishment in 2018. But he was widely expected to be fired over efforts to debunk conspiracies about voter fraud and the security of the election.

So far Republicans have largely remained silent on his firing. Krebs was confirmed by the Senate by a voice vote in 2018 to helm Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate, CISA’s predecessor. 

 Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) indicated to CNN that he didn’t think Trump should have fired him. 

“Yeah I think he was very good. I think what he was trying to do in an unprecedented way was to connect with every state in the country, and give them what they needed to protect and have a firewall … against cyberattacks,” Portman told the outlet, asked if he wished Trump hadn’t fired him. 

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), a member of the Intelligence Committee, released a statement praising Krebs but didn’t criticize his firing. 

“Chris Krebs is a dedicated public servant who has done a remarkable job during a challenging time. Chris and his team at CISA have worked diligently to strengthen our election infrastructure, helping to shore up vulnerabilities and build trust between State and Federal Government,” Burr said in a statement.