diff --git a/sky/backends/backend_utils.py b/sky/backends/backend_utils.py
index 13b9bb2dbce..19fdef0bfad 100644
--- a/sky/backends/backend_utils.py
+++ b/sky/backends/backend_utils.py
@@ -686,33 +686,6 @@ def get_expirable_clouds(
     return expirable_clouds
 
 
-@functools.lru_cache(maxsize=1)
-def get_remote_identity(cloud: Optional[clouds.Cloud],
-                        cluster_name: str) -> str:
-    """Retrieves the remote identity for a given cloud and cluster name.
-
-    Args:
-        cloud: The cloud object or None.
-        cluster_name: The name of the cluster.
-
-    Returns:
-        The remote identity as a string.
-    """
-    remote_identity_config = skypilot_config.get_nested(
-        (str(cloud).lower(), 'remote_identity'), None)
-    remote_identity = schemas.get_default_remote_identity(str(cloud).lower())
-    if isinstance(remote_identity_config, str):
-        remote_identity = remote_identity_config
-    if isinstance(remote_identity_config, list):
-        # Some clouds (e.g., AWS) support specifying multiple service accounts
-        # chosen based on the cluster name. Do the matching here to pick the
-        # correct one.
-        for profile in remote_identity_config:
-            if fnmatch.fnmatchcase(cluster_name, list(profile.keys())[0]):
-                return list(profile.values())[0]
-    return remote_identity
-
-
 # TODO: too many things happening here - leaky abstraction. Refactor.
 @timeline.event
 def write_cluster_config(
@@ -792,7 +765,19 @@ def write_cluster_config(
     assert cluster_name is not None
     excluded_clouds = set()
 
-    remote_identity = get_remote_identity(cloud, cluster_name)
+    remote_identity_config = skypilot_config.get_nested(
+        (str(cloud).lower(), 'remote_identity'), None)
+    remote_identity = schemas.get_default_remote_identity(str(cloud).lower())
+    if isinstance(remote_identity_config, str):
+        remote_identity = remote_identity_config
+    if isinstance(remote_identity_config, list):
+        # Some clouds (e.g., AWS) support specifying multiple service accounts
+        # chosen based on the cluster name. Do the matching here to pick the
+        # correct one.
+        for profile in remote_identity_config:
+            if fnmatch.fnmatchcase(cluster_name, list(profile.keys())[0]):
+                remote_identity = list(profile.values())[0]
+                break
     if remote_identity != schemas.RemoteIdentityOptions.LOCAL_CREDENTIALS.value:
         # If LOCAL_CREDENTIALS is not specified, we add the cloud to the
         # excluded_clouds set, but we must also check if the cloud supports