Pentagon Picks GOP House Candidate to Lead Cyber Office

(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon has named an unsuccessful Republican congressional candidate to lead a new cybersecurity office, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

Katie Arrington, who lost in her campaign for a South Carolina House seat last year, will lead a new Chief Information Security Office under Kevin Fahey, the assistant defense secretary for acquisition, said in the memo dated Wednesday.

“Our adversaries are increasingly focused on using cyber to reduce the effectiveness of Department of Defense weapon systems, critical infrastructure and supply chain security,” Fahey wrote. “Establishment of the CISO is meant to improve our effectiveness in responding to cyber threats.”

Arrington, a former South Carolina state lawmaker, won Donald Trump’s endorsement in a primary against former Representative Mark Sanford, a Republican who had repeatedly criticized the president. She beat Sanford but lost in the general election to Democrat Joe Cunningham.

The Pentagon hired her for the acquisitions office in January, according to the Charleston Post and Courier, calling her a “highly qualified expert appointment.”

The Pentagon didn’t respond to a request for comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum

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