Then-Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd makes remarks at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. Rudd was confirmed as the head of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency on Tuesday, March 10, as well as promoted to the rank of four-star general. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Army Gen. Joshua Rudd to head U.S. Cyber Command and serve as director of the National Security Agency after the two positions were left without permanent leadership for nearly a year.
Rudd, the deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command since 2024, was confirmed for the dual-hat role and promoted to four-star general in a 71-29 vote. His predecessor in the job, Gen. Timothy Haugh, was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump in April.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Monday that it was critical to move Rudd into the role amid the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Space and cyber forces kicked off the campaign by jamming Iranian communications.
“Operation Epic Fury is complex, it’s demanding, and the president is going to dismantle the terrorist regime in Iran and our capabilities in the cyber domain, in that regard, have never been more important,” Wicker said. “So we need this gentleman in office.”
But Rudd’s nomination had also been met with criticism, most pointedly from Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who said Rudd lacked experience in national signals intelligence activities and cyber operations.
The National Security Agency is the nation’s largest spy agency, and Cyber Command conducts offensive and defensive operations on computer networks overseas.
Rudd’s decades of military experience include leading the Army’s elite Delta Force unit and commanding all Special Operations forces assigned to the Indo-Pacific. He has also served as chief of staff of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Wyden said he admired Rudd’s many years of military service but considered him the “wrong person for this position” because he failed to demonstrate “a bare minimum” understanding of the constitutional limits on the NSA’s surveillance authorities.
“His response to questions about privacy rights and transparency were deeply troubling,” Wyden said Tuesday. “He wouldn’t commit to the agency’s past policy of not purchasing and using very sensitive location data, on Americans and he wouldn’t rule out secretly violating public policies and guardrails on NSA activities.”
During his confirmation hearings, Rudd defended the need for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key authority for U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications on foreigners overseas that is set to expire in April.
Three senators on the Intelligence Committee, including Wyden, voted against Rudd’s nomination last month. The Senate Armed Service Committee voted unanimously in favor of Rudd in January.
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee, chastised Democrats for holding up Rudd’s confirmation. Wyden blocked a potential voice vote on the nomination last month, forcing the roll call vote on Tuesday.
“General Rudd is a war hero with a lifetime of service to our nation,” Cotton said in a statement after the confirmation. “He is the right choice to lead the protection of our nation from cyberattacks by Iran, Russia and China.”
