Coast Guard Leadership Clashes with Homeland Security Chief Over Deportation Priorities
Relations between Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the United States Coast Guard's senior command have deteriorated significantly, primarily due to her persistent emphasis on migrant deportations over other critical duties, according to a detailed new report. The tensions, which first emerged in February 2025 shortly after the former South Dakota governor was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Department of Homeland Security, have created a rift within the agency that oversees the Coast Guard.
Search-and-Rescue Mission Interrupted by Deportation Order
The conflict came to a head on February 4, 2025, when a 23-year-old Coast Guard servicemember fell from a ship in the vast Pacific Ocean, triggering an immediate and extensive search-and-rescue operation. During the critical early hours of this emergency mission, Secretary Noem was informed that a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft—originally scheduled to transport migrants from California—was participating in the search effort. According to multiple officials familiar with the incident, Noem promptly ordered Admiral Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, to recall the aircraft to the United States so it could fulfill its deportation flight assignment.
This directive forced Coast Guard leadership in San Diego to scramble desperately for alternative aircraft to handle the migrant transport, allowing the C-130 already deployed over the Pacific to continue scanning the treacherous seas. Tragically, the missing Coast Guardsman was never recovered, adding a somber dimension to the bureaucratic dispute.
Cultural Shift and Resource Strain
"The primary mission was search-and-rescue," explained a former Coast Guard official familiar with the internal dynamics. "And now the number one stated mission of the Coast Guard is border security. That represents a profound cultural change that the service's culture hasn't quite caught up to." This sentiment reflects broader concerns within the Coast Guard's leadership about Noem's operational priorities.
Under Noem's direction, Coast Guard aircraft are now being utilized for migrant deportations at a rate ten times higher than previously recorded, placing severe strain on the branch's already scarce aviation resources. "It puts so much stress on the Wing," a current Coast Guard official revealed, referring specifically to the service's aviation operations. Fresh directives issued to Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento confirm that more deportation flights are planned, with C-27 aircraft now required to prioritize migrant transport above other duties. Notably, counternarcotics missions have been elevated to a higher priority than traditional search-and-rescue operations in this new framework.
Escalating Tensions and Internal Atmosphere
The friction has occasionally boiled over into full-blown confrontations. In one particularly notable incident in May 2025, Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser to Secretary Noem, allegedly threatened to fire staff on a Coast Guard aircraft after it departed without Noem's heated blanket, according to officials who witnessed the exchange. This episode contributed to what one former Coast Guard official described as "a general atmosphere of 'keep your head down; you don't want to be on the firing line.'"
Despite frustrating the branch's top brass, Noem reportedly retains support from many rank-and-file Coast Guard members, creating an unusual divide within the service's hierarchy. This internal dynamic has been further complicated by a series of recent incidents that have increasingly soured senior leadership on Noem's leadership style and policy directives.
Departmental Denials and Political Context
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson strongly disputed many aspects of the reporting, specifically denying that migrant transportation has been prioritized over search-and-rescue missions and labeling such claims as "ridiculous." The representative asserted, "The entire premise of your story is incorrect. And these attacks are nothing more than a politicized deep state effort to undermine President Trump's immigration enforcement agenda and distract from the historic successes that the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard have achieved since he returned to office."
These recent clashes, which have largely occurred away from public scrutiny, represent just the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Secretary Noem. The Homeland Security chief has faced intense scrutiny amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which resulted in the deaths of two American citizens—Renee Good and Alex Pretti—at the hands of federal agents. Additionally, critics targeted Noem last year over a photo opportunity at a prison in El Salvador, a facility accused of human rights abuses where approximately 200 Venezuelan migrants had been deported during the previous summer.
The ongoing dispute highlights fundamental questions about mission priorities, resource allocation, and institutional culture within America's homeland security apparatus during a period of heightened focus on border enforcement.
