At his November 2, 2023, Senate confirmation hearing, Harry Coker, Jr. said that if confirmed as National Cyber Director, he would continue the Office of the National Cyber Director’s strategy and partnership work. The statement was about his 2023 nomination, not a current nomination: Maryland now lists Coker as Secretary of Commerce and says he served as National Cyber Director from 2023 to 2025.
What Coker said about ONCD’s direction
Coker appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as the nominee for National Cyber Director in the Executive Office of the President. The committee held the hearing on November 2, 2023, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room SD-562. The committee’s hearing page identifies the nomination and date.
In his written statement, Coker praised work already underway at ONCD, including the National Cybersecurity Strategy, its Implementation Plan, and the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy. He described the strategy and implementation plan as roadmaps, and put cooperation at the center of how ONCD should work with partners, including Congress.
“If confirmed, I will ensure cooperation continues to be the North Star at the Office of the National Cyber Director and the guiding principle for the Administration’s cyber work with all partners, including Congress,” Coker wrote in his statement to the committee. Read Coker’s prepared statement. Contemporary coverage also characterized his message as a pledge to continue ONCD’s existing work with partners. CyberScoop’s account of the hearing.
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How that approach applied to the issues senators raised
Cyber workforce: widen the routes into the field
Coker argued that a four-year degree should not be a universal prerequisite for cyber jobs. He pointed to job vacancy notices and questionnaires as places to reconsider requirements, and called for education and recruitment that reach beyond students already following conventional STEM pathways. These were positions he expressed at the hearing, not evidence that hiring rules changed as a result.
Critical infrastructure: match responsibility to capacity
On critical infrastructure, Coker supported shifting some responsibility toward defenders better equipped to handle cybersecurity. He cited hospitals as operators that may lack resources and described timely federal threat information as a way to help organizations with less capacity. His remarks describe a proposed direction; they do not establish that responsibility was formally shifted or that the approach produced a particular outcome.
Elections: support the authorities that administer them
Coker described the federal role in election security as supporting state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as they administer elections. That support included making relevant resources known to those authorities, rather than replacing their role in running elections.
Partnership: keep coordination central
Across these subjects, Coker emphasized cooperation among federal agencies and with private-sector partners. His call for continuity did not mean that every implementation decision would remain unchanged; it was a commitment to carry forward ONCD’s strategy and collaborative approach.
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The words “if confirmed” refer to Coker’s 2023 nomination. As of September 28, 2026, Maryland’s Department of Commerce lists him as Secretary of Commerce and says he served as National Cyber Director from 2023 to 2025. Maryland’s Secretary Harry Coker profile and the department’s newsroom provide the current state-government context.
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