Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone has been tapped to be the next commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.

While rumored to be the leading candidate for the job for several weeks, the news came Tuesday night with a tweet from Rob Joyce, White House cyber advisor.

According to the congressional record, Nakasone was nominated for his fourth star Feb. 8.

Cyber Command is currently in the throes of elevating to a full unified combatant command. The elevation is expected to become official following Nakasone’s confirmation by the Senate.

Nakasone’s nomination for both jobs shows that the Trump administration is not using the retirement of current commander and director Adm. Michael Rogers’s to split the dual hat arrangement as some in the national security community had expected.

Prior to splitting the agencies, the Department of Defense must meet a variety of elements outlined by Congress in last year’s annual defense policy bill.

Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.

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