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Chris Krebs is the first and current Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which works under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security. Krebs has told multiple people that he expects to be fired by Trump in the near future, according to a report by Politico. This is in part due to his efforts creating a website aimed at debunking election disinformation and fraud, which has debunked many GOP-pushed election claims, among other things.
On Thursday, November 12, Krebs retweeted a tweet that encouraged people not to take some of POTUS’ election accusations seriously. The tweet read, “Please don’t retweet wild and baseless claims about voting machines, even if they’re made by the president. These fantasies have been debunked many times, including by @DHSgov @CISAgov on this excellent site/resource, Rumor Control.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Krebs’ Twitter Accout Is Filled With Efforts to Debunk Misinformation About the Presidential Election
According to Politico, Krebs thinks his job is at risk in part due to what he’s done for the job in question: Krebs’ Twitter account is filled with factual debunking of conspiracy theories and misinformation about the presidential campaign. Much of this misinformation has been pushed by members in the GOP, including POTUS.
For example, many GOP officials (including Trump) have challenged the legitimacy of Arizona’s presidential election. Arizona notably went blue for Biden. In a November 11 tweet, Krebs wrote, “For those of you eyeing Arizona, you can read about the specific security measures the fine folks in Maricopa County use to ensure an efficient, accurate, and secure tabulated vote count.”
Krebs has also been extremely clear on his efforts to debunk misinformation pushed by the president about “Hammer and Scorecard,” which has to do with false claims that a supercomputer and software program are altering vote counts in the election. Krebs tweeted, “To be crystal clear… I’m specifically referring to the Hammer and Scorecard nonsense. It’s just that – nonsense. This is not a real thing, don’t fall for it and think 2x before you share.”
Kreb’s Bio Reveals a Long History of Work in the Cybersecurity Field
Chris Krebs CISA Bio
Krebs’ experience with cybersecurity spans several positions and industries. He has worked at DHS in various positions since 2017, according to his CISA bio. Prior to working at DHS, Krebs worked as the Director for Cybersecurity Policy as a member of Microsoft’s U.S. Government Affairs team.
Kreb’s bio reads,
This is [Kreb’s] second tour working at DHS, previously serving as the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection and playing a formative role in a number of national and international risk management programs.
The White House Has ‘Wanted to Fire Krebs for a While,’ an Official Told Politico
CISA Director Chris Krebs, one of the few Trump administration officials with widespread bipartisan credibility, is reportedly telling people that he expects to be fired by the White House.
Krebs has led election security efforts through 2018 and 2020.
A White House official told Politico that the Trump administration has “wanted to fire Krebs for a while,” largely due to his public efforts to battle misinformation, much of which has come from the White House in the days following the election.
A former Trump transition official told the publication, “Chris Krebs is the Administration’s foremost civilian expert on cybersecurity and election integrity. He put his head down … and did the country a tremendous service with a laser-like focus on protecting America’s critical infrastructure, including election security. It’s a shame if some inexperienced staffers in the White House blinded by MAGA politics don’t see it that way.”
This is a developing post and will be updated.