The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within,and connecting to the United States. It was created as a response to the September 11 attacks to improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a dedicated federal administrative law enforcement agency.
The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security,the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11,2001.
James Milton Loy is a retired admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security in 2005 and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from November 4,2003,to March 1,2005. Prior to his appointment as deputy secretary,he served as the second administrator of the Transportation Security Administration from 2002 to 2003,and before that as the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from 1998 to 2002. Also in 2004,Loy was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
The commandant of the Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The commandant is an admiral,appointed for a four-year term by the president of the United States upon confirmation by the United States Senate. The commandant is assisted by a vice commandant,who is also an admiral,and two area commanders and two deputy commandants,all of whom are vice admirals.
John William Magaw is a former administrator for the United States Federal Government. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Otterbein College,in Westerville,Ohio in 1957. He began his career in public service in 1959 as a state trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Thad William Allen is a former admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 23rd commandant from 2006 to 2010. Allen is best known for his widely praised performance directing the federal response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region from September 2005 to January 2006,and for his role as National Incident Commander of the Unified Command for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Robert J. Papp Jr. succeeded him as Commandant on 25 May 2010.
Thomas J. Barrett is a former United States Coast Guard officer and former Deputy Secretary of Transportation from 2007 until 2009.
The deputy secretary of homeland security is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Homeland Security,with responsibility for managing day-to-day operations. The department has over 208,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $48.5 billion.
The Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the Department of Homeland Security,which is presented to United States Armed Forces servicemembers for exceptionally meritorious service. The current version of the medal was established in February 2003,retroactive to March 1,2002.
Chad Fredrick Wolf is a former lobbyist and former American government official who was named the acting United States secretary of homeland security in November 2019. His appointment was ruled unlawful in November 2020. Wolf was also the under secretary of homeland security for strategy,policy,and plans from 2019 to 2021.
Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas is a Cuban-American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the seventh United States Secretary of Homeland Security since February 2,2021. During the Obama administration,he also served in the Department of Homeland Security,first as director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (2009–2013),and then as deputy secretary of DHS (2013–2016).
Peter Vance Neffenger is a United States Coast Guard Admiral and public servant who served as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration from July 2015 to January 20,2017.
David L. Norquist is an American financial management professional and former government official who served as the 34th United States deputy secretary of defense from 2019 to 2021. In May of 2022,Norquist was selected as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
Kevin Kealoha McAleenan is an American attorney and government official who unlawfully served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019.
Claire M. Grady is a former American government official who served in areas of national defense and security procurement. She served as the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management,as well as the acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from August 2017 until April 2019. Prior to assuming her the role,she served as director of defense procurement and acquisition policy at the United States Department of Defense. In her previous capacity in the U.S. Department of Defense,Grady was a member of the Defense Acquisition Board.
Karl Leo Schultz is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard from 2018 to 2022.
Beginning in 2019,multiple appointments of acting officials in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were questioned,on the basis of whether the appointments were legal under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. After the departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019,the Trump administration did not formally nominate a new secretary to be confirmed by the Senate,relying on acting postings.
Linda Lee Fagan is a United States Coast Guard admiral who serves as the 27th Commandant of the Coast Guard. Previously,in 2021 she became the 32nd Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral. Before that,she was the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area with prior terms as Coast Guard Deputy for Operations,Policy,and Capabilities,commander,First Coast Guard District,and commander,Coast Guard Sector New York. Fagan is also the Coast Guard's first Gold Ancient Trident,the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety Field. In April 2021,Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced her nomination as the next Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard,succeeding Charles W. Ray. She was confirmed on June 17,2021,and assumed office on June 18.
United States 
United States Coast Guard 
Vice Admiral 
