Coast Guard secretary position gains support from key Trump officials

EXCLUSIVE: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem are both on board with establishing a secretary of the Coast Guard, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The Coast Guard is the only military service that falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security and does not have a top civilian secretary leading the service — unlike the Navy, Army and Air Force. 

However, momentum is building — both within the administration and on Capitol Hill — to reform the Coast Guard and revamp its standards so that it better aligns with the armed services that fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of War. 

As a result, Hegseth said that establishing a service secretary would facilitate the Coast Guard’s ability to “support the full spectrum of national security operations,” according to a Thursday letter Fox News Digital obtained from Hegseth to Noem. 

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“I view the creation of a Secretary of the Coast Guard as a vital step toward strengthening strategic integration and alignment between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of War,” Hegseth said in the letter. 

“Furthermore, a Secretary of the Coast Guard would reinforce civilian oversight of the military, a foundational principle of our Constitution,” Hegseth said. “A dedicated Service Secretary would promote appropriate executive accountability and policy guidance for the Coast Guard’s critical mission set, provide clear leadership and advocacy, and ensure that the Service is effectively advancing the priorities of the Secretary of Homeland Security and the President of the United States.”

Noem said a secretary for the Coast Guard will allow it to better conduct joint operations with other services. For example, the Coast Guard is teaming up with the U.S. Navy as part of Operation Pacific Viper, which seeks to counter the influx of illegal drugs to the U.S. as part of President Donald Trump’s larger effort to crack down on drug cartels. 

Ultimately, Noem vowed she would work with Hegseth, Trump and members of Congress to create the position. 

“The Coast Guard is the tip of the spear in the fight to protect our Homeland,” Noem said in a statement, obtained by Fox News Digital. “Every day, they are taking down drug smugglers, going toe-to-toe with our adversaries in the Arctic and the Pacific, and saving lives. Having a Secretary of the Coast Guard will be essential for President Trump’s mandate to rebuild the Service into the finest maritime fighting force in the world.”

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Efforts to install a secretary of the Coast Guard are also picking up steam on Capitol Hill. For example, Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., spearheaded a provision included in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, which the House passed in July, to create a Coast Guard secretary as well. 

Installing a secretary of the service will “streamline some of this red tape that we’ve seen over the years that’s slowed progress down” because he or she will report directly to the White House and Congress — eliminating multiple layers of bureaucracy, according to Ezell. 

“This person is going to be instrumental in getting things done,” Ezell told Fox News Digital in July. 

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard unveiled its new Force Design 2028 plan to reform the maritime service’s organizational structure, personnel, acquisitions, contracting and technology in April. Organizational changes in the plan include installing a secretary for the service.

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Additionally, the initiative seeks to build up the Coast Guard’s force, which currently consists of roughly 43,000 active-duty personnel, and identify which specialties need reinforcement to expand training. The blueprint also calls for a series of changes to better align the Coast Guard with the Department of Defense’s standards for physical fitness, body composition and grooming.

Historically, the Coast Guard has not enforced fitness standards unless personnel are attached to boat crews of law enforcement teams — a departure from the other military services. However, the Coast Guard announced in September that it is rolling out a mandatory, service-wide fitness test in 2026. 

The Coast Guard’s Force Design 2028 comes in response to the Trump administration’s efforts to tackle illegal immigration and drug smuggling, a DHS official familiar with the plan told Fox News Digital in April. 

“We’ve been making changes practically daily in the service to really keep moving forward,” the official told Fox News Digital in April. “The goal of 2028 is that the transformation of the service will be complete by 2028.”