Quick Hits

*** Gen. Paul Nakasone, the chief of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee that he had recently provided a notification to Congress that he would carry out an offensive cyber operation. The remarks came in response to a question from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) who asked the general about whether those notifications were being provided to lawmakers specifically for cyber operations. The White House has not yet announced any formal retaliation against the suspected Russian agents who carried out the campaign against SolarWinds and the company's customers including nine federal agencies, but has told reporters it is preparing executive orders in response to its investigative findings regarding the breach.

*** Alethea Predeoux was tapped by the Office of Personnel Management to serve as director of the agency's Office of Congressional, Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. Predeoux comes to OPM from the American Federation of Government Employees, where she was legislative director.