Overview: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s first year has strained relations with some senior U.S. Coast Guard leaders, officials say. A disputed Feb. 4, 2025 incident in which Noem reportedly ordered a C-130 pulled from a search for a missing Coast Guardsman became a flashpoint. Data from ICE Flight Monitor shows a large rise in Coast Guard flights used to transport detained migrants, prompting concerns that aviation resources and traditional missions like search-and-rescue have been stretched. DHS denies any systematic reprioritization and says the Coast Guard remains ready for search-and-rescue.
Noem’s Early Orders and Migrant Flights Strain Ties With the U.S. Coast Guard, Officials Say
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem participates in a tour at the US Coast Guard Station Charleston in South Caroline in Nov., 2025. (Alex Brandon / AFP via Getty Images)(Alex Brandon)
Washington — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s first year at the Department of Homeland Security has produced growing friction with some senior U.S. Coast Guard leaders and career personnel, current and former officials tell NBC News. The disputes center on decisions that officials say have diverted the service’s limited aviation resources to immigration-related tasks and prompted concerns about operational priorities and morale.
Search-and-Rescue Incident That Set the Tone
Officials described a Feb. 4, 2025 incident early in Noem’s tenure that helped shape relations between DHS and the Coast Guard: a 23-year-old Coast Guardsman fell overboard from the cutter Waesche shortly after Noem’s Senate confirmation. The Coast Guard launched an extensive search spanning roughly 190 hours and about 19,000 square miles.
According to two U.S. officials and Coast Guard sources, a C-130 that was scheduled to fly detained migrants from California to Texas was among aircraft on scene. Officials say Noem verbally instructed Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday to pull that C-130 off the search so it would not miss the migrant flight. The National Command Center subsequently ordered the C-130 to fly to San Diego while other assets continued the search; regional command arranged two C-27s to move the migrants, and the C-130 returned to search operations after about an hour.
DHS disputes that account, saying a C-130 was shifted into the search on Feb. 4 and "never left the search," and that there is no documentation showing it was diverted away from search-and-rescue operations. It is unclear whether Noem’s directive — if issued as described by officials — affected the outcome of the search. The missing Coast Guardsman was never found.
Increase In Migrant Flights And Operational Strain
Multiple officials say tensions have widened as the Coast Guard’s role in transporting migrants for deportation operations has grown. Data compiled by ICE Flight Monitor, a nonprofit that tracks deportation flights, shows more than 750 Coast Guard flights repurposed to carry detained migrants to deportation hubs, and migrant flights by Coast Guard aircraft rose from 14 in June to 149 by November.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem boards the US Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba in Jun. 2025, in Panama City. (Anna Moneymaker / AFP / Getty Images)(Anna Moneymaker)
Officials familiar with recent guidance said Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento was told to prioritize domestic transport of detained immigrants on C-27 aircraft, which they say pushed traditional missions such as search-and-rescue lower in the local priority list, with counternarcotics and training placed above it. DHS rejects that characterization, saying the Coast Guard remains ready to respond to search-and-rescue missions and carefully balances operations.
Personnel Friction And High-Profile Incidents
Sources describe clashes between Noem’s team and Coast Guard staff. In one disputed May incident, Noem’s top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, reportedly berated flight crew and threatened disciplinary action after a plane left without a personal item belonging to the secretary — a heated blanket. Current and former Coast Guard officials say such episodes have contributed to an atmosphere of caution among some staff.
Other flashpoints include Noem’s decision to evict then-Commandant Linda Fagan from housing at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling on short notice in February, after Fagan’s removal from the post, and criticism from lawmakers and some Coast Guard officers over Noem’s pursuit of two new Gulfstream jets — a purchase reported at roughly $170 million — to replace the aircraft that transport the Homeland Security secretary. Noem has defended the acquisition, and DHS says Congress appropriated the funds. She has also allocated roughly $200 million for deportation advertising and taken a prominent public role in immigration enforcement efforts.
Responses And The Cultural Divide
DHS has pushed back against the narrative that search-and-rescue has been deprioritized, calling the story politicized and insisting aircraft movement for migrant transport has been "on an as-needed basis." Still, several current and former Coast Guard officials say the cumulative effect of repeated reallocations, expanded migrant flights and management clashes has strained aviation units and dented morale in headquarters.
"The primary mission was search-and-rescue. And now the number one stated mission of the Coast Guard is border security — that is a cultural change that the culture hasn’t quite caught up to," a former Coast Guard official said.
As Noem continues to lead DHS’s immigration operations, officials on both sides remain at odds over priorities and the appropriate use of limited Coast Guard assets.
Reporting Note: This article reflects accounts from current and former U.S. and Coast Guard officials, and includes the DHS response disputing certain characterizations of events and guidance.
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