David Peter Pekoske (born May 5, 1955) is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

who served as the seventh administrator of the

Transportation Security Administration 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 ...

in the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...

(DHS) from 2017 to 2025. He served as the acting

deputy secretary of homeland security 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 budge ...

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 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 U ...

, during the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

confirmation of

Alejandro Mayorkas Alejandro Nicolas Mayorkas (born November 24, 1959) is an American attorney and government official who was the seventh United States secretary of homeland security, serving from 2021 until 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Mayorkas previ ...

. Pekoske retired with 33 years of active military service in 2010 as the 26th

vice commandant of the Coast Guard The vice commandant of the Coast Guard serves as the second-in-command of the United States Coast Guard, behind only the commandant of the Coast Guard. Since 1929, 31 officers have served as vice commandant, or, as the position was referred to b ...

Early life and education

Pekoske was born in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden ( ) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planni ...

. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in ocean engineering from the

United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

. He is a 1989 graduate of the

School of International and Public Affairs The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the List of schools of international relations in the United States, international affairs and public policy school, public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League univers ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

with a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

degree. Pekoske graduated from the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (branded as MIT Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree progra ...

with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in 1997.

Career

Pekoske served as a member of the United States Coast Guard Academy Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2008. His 33-year career included a variety of operational and staff assignments and command of six Coast Guard operational units. He served on the west, gulf and east coasts of the United States and on the Great Lakes. Pekoske's operational expertise was in the operations ashore community. His staff expertise is in strategic planning, program analysis and budget development. Pekoske served Executive Assistant to the Commandant from 2001 to 2004. From 1999 to 2001, he commanded Coast Guard Group/Marine Safety Office (now Sector) Long Island Sound, based in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

Flag assignments

Vice Admiral Pekoske served as Commander, Pacific Area/Coast Guard Defense Forces West in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

. He oversaw the operation of units performing missions in marine safety, maritime mobility, protection of natural resources, maritime security,

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

and national defense in an Area of Operations encompassing over throughout the Pacific Basin and Far East. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Commandant for Operations at Coast Guard Headquarters. From 2004 to 2006 he was Commander of the First Coast Guard District/Maritime Defense Command One headquartered in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Vice-commandant

Vice Admiral Pekoske served as

vice commandant of the United States Coast Guard The vice commandant of the Coast Guard serves as the second-in-command of the United States Coast Guard, behind only the commandant of the Coast Guard. Since 1929, 31 officers have served as vice commandant, or, as the position was referred to b ...

from August 7, 2009 to May 24, 2010. As second in command to Admiral

Thad Allen Thad William Allen (born 16 January 1949) 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 performance directing the federal response to hurricanes Katrina a ...

and COO, Pekoske executed the commandant's strategic intent, managed internal organizational governance and served as the component acquisition executive.

TSA administrator

On June 5, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced that he had nominated Pekoske as the seventh Administrator of the

. On August 3, 2017, Pekoske was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

as the next TSA administrator. On August 10, 2017, he was sworn in as TSA's seventh administrator. On May 6, 2022, Pekoske was nominated to a second five-year term by President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. On September 15, 2022, Pekoske was confirmed by the Senate by a 77-18 vote. In the interim, Pekoske reverted to an acting status. On January 20, 2025, Pekoske was forced out of office by

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...

Acting deputy secretary of homeland security

On April 11, 2019, Pekoske was designated as the senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary by Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

Kevin McAleenan Kevin Kealoha McAleenan (born September 5, 1971) is an American attorney and government official who served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019. McAleenan served as the U.S. Customs and Border ...

, making him the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Pekoske remained the TSA Administrator, but day-to-day operations of TSA were overseen by TSA's acting deputy administrator, Patricia Cogswell. On November 13, 2019, with the appointment of Ken Cuccinelli as Acting Deputy Secretary, Pekoske returned to his duties as TSA Administrator. Following Alejandro Mayorkas' confirmation and swearing in as secretary, Pekoske served a second time as acting deputy secretary until the confirmation of the permanent deputy secretary,

John Tien John Kai Tien Jr. (born 1963) 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. Early life and educati ...

Acting secretary of homeland security

From January 20, 2021 to February 2, 2021, Pekoske was appointed acting secretary of homeland security by President Joe Biden, during the

confirmation of

to the role. While he served as acting secretary, the senior official performing the duties of TSA administrator was Darby LaJoye, TSA's executive assistant administrator for security operations.

Awards

His personal decorations include, among others, two awards of the

Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal The Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military decoration of the Department of Homeland Security, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exception ...

Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal The Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal (CGDSM) is a military decoration of the United States Coast Guard that was established 4 August 1949 and is presented to coast guardsmen for "Exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty ...

(2), the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(2), the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

(5), the

Coast Guard Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

(2), the

Coast Guard Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

(4) and the

Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon The Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon is a personal military award of the United States Coast Guard. The award was established in March 1979 by Admiral John B. Hayes. Criteria The Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon is awarded to ...

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pekoske, David 1955 births Biden administration cabinet members Living people School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni MIT Sloan School of Management alumni Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Transportation Security Administration officials First Trump administration personnel United States Coast Guard admirals Vice Commandants of the United States Coast Guard People from Meriden, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut