Chris Krebs served as the director of CISA.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
Deadline: White HouseOct 22, 2026
Multiple tier1 and primary sources confirm Chris Krebs served as director of CISA (from its establishment in November 2018 until he was fired on November 17, 2020). The claim's referent (Krebs, CISA director) matches the passage, which the post made about Krebs as the man who became CISA's director.
What was said
… He listened for about 30 seconds to what he had signed, and I'm not sure, genuinely, he was ever briefed again after that on what that agency was. And the next time he heard about that agency, it's because the man who became its director later, who was standing next to me, Chris Krebs, said, The election was free and fair, and, Mr. President, you built a whole architecture to help affirm that. And what did Donald Trump do? Exactly what Jim Heim said: he gutted the agency. He has since gutted that agency. That means we are left rudderless right now. We really are. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP and The Hill report Krebs ran CISA from its creation through the 2020 election until Trump fired him on November 17, 2020.[1][4]
Supports. A congress.gov primary biography lists Christopher Krebs as the first director of CISA.[3]
Supports. Reuters describes Krebs as former director of CISA whom Trump fired in November 2020, confirming the role.[2]
Context. The claim's wording is a simple role statement; the post's passage referred to Krebs as the man who became CISA's director, consistent with the sources.[3][5]
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 tier 1, 1 tier 2
- 1Trump fires agency head who vouched for 2020 vote securityapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Ex-CISA chief Chris Krebs leaving SentinelOne following Trump pressurereuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Christopher Krebs Director, Cybersecurity and ...congress.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
- 4Top cybersecurity official ousted by Trumpthehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 5Trump's firing of top election security official unsettles lawmakerspbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Chris Krebs helped create CISA during the first Trump administration.True
- Donald Trump fired Chris Krebs from his position as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.True
- Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor stood behind the president when he signed the legislation bringing CISA into law.Can’t tell
- Donald Trump signed the legislation establishing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).True
- CISA was established by George W. Bush and Donald Trump.Mixed