The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States, who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The secretary of defense is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer and the head of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense.
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.
The United States order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order, or relative preeminence, for domestic and foreign government officials at diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events within the United States and abroad. The list is used to mitigate miscommunication and embarrassment in diplomacy, and offer a distinct and concrete spectrum of preeminence for ceremonies. Often the document is used to advise diplomatic and ceremonial event planners on seating charts and order of introduction. Former presidents, vice presidents, first ladies, second ladies, and secretaries of state and retired Supreme Court justices are also included in the list.
The deputy secretary of defense is a statutory office and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the secretary of the Army. In a separate capacity, the CSA is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and, thereby, a military advisor to the National Security Council, the secretary of defense, and the president of the United States. The CSA is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the U.S. Army unless the chairman or the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Army officers.
The deputy secretary of commerce is a high-ranking position within the U.S. Department of Commerce. It was created on December 13, 1979, when President Jimmy Carter sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and nominated Luther H. Hodges Jr., who then currently held the title of under secretary of commerce. The deputy secretary serves as the department’s chief operating officer, with responsibility for the day-to-day management of its approximately $11.4 billion budget, 13 operating units, and 46,000 employees. In that capacity, the deputy secretary is also a member of the President’s Management Council. The current deputy secretary is Don Graves, who was sworn in on May 14, 2021.
Michael Peter Jackson was the George W. Bush administration's Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, beginning in March 2005 and ending with his resignation in October 2007. Jackson is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis is a high-level civilian official in the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Under Secretary, as head of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at DHS, is the principal staff assistant and adviser to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security for fusing law enforcement and intelligence information relating to terrorism and other critical threats.
The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Under Secretary, as head of the Management Directorate at DHS, is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security for all aspects of DHS administration, finance, and personnel issues.
Caryn Wagner was the Department of Homeland Security’s Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis from February 11, 2010, to December 21, 2012. As such, she was DHS's Chief Intelligence Officer (CINT), in charge of the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis with responsibilities over the DHS component intelligence services. She was the first woman to serve in this position, after extensive experience in the U.S. Intelligence Community and on Capitol Hill.
David Peter Pekoske is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who has served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2017. He served as the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security from April to November 2019 and again from January to June 2021. From January 20, 2021 to February 2, 2021 he served as acting secretary of homeland security, during the Senate confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas. Pekoske retired with 33 years of active military service in 2010 as the 26th vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
Kristie Canegallo is a U.S. government official serving as the acting United States deputy secretary of homeland security (DHS) since July 2023. She joined DHS in January 2022 as its chief of staff. Canegallo was a White House deputy chief of staff for policy implementation from 2014 to 2017.
Elaine Costanzo Duke is an American civil servant and former United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, serving from April 10, 2017 until April 15, 2018. She became acting Secretary of Homeland Security on July 31, 2017, when John F. Kelly assumed the office of White House Chief of Staff. She left the acting position on December 6, 2017, upon the confirmation of Kirstjen Nielsen.
David Lutz 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).
Randolph D. "Tex" Alles is an American law enforcement officer and government official who currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management and the de facto head of the DHS Management Directorate, under the various titles of both Acting Under Secretary and Senior Official Performing the Duties of Under Secretary. He also served as the 25th Director of the United States Secret Service from April 2017 to May 2019, and previously as the acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as in the United States Marine Corps, in which he reached the rank of major general.
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.
Tae D. Johnson is an American law enforcement official who served as the senior official performing the duties of the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2021 to July 2023. The legality of his status as Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was disputed.
John Kai Tien Jr. is an American government official and retired United States Army officer who served as the United States deputy secretary of homeland security in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2023.
Jonathan Davidson is a U.S. government official and lawyer serving as the chief of staff of the United States Department of Homeland Security since August 2023. He previously served as the assistant secretary of the Treasury for legislative affairs from 2021 to 2023.
