The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of 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 ...

, the federal department tasked with ensuring

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The secretary is a member of the

Cabinet of the United States The Cabinet of the United States is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in Cabinet Room (White House), a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of ...

. The position was created by the

Homeland Security Act The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002 () was introduced in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and subsequent mailings of anthrax spores. The HSA was cosponsored by 118 members of Congress. The act passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 9 ...

following the

terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four com ...

. The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other Cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

, the

Federal Protective Service Federal Protective Service may refer to: *Federal Protective Service (United States), a U.S. security police force responsible for the security of buildings owned by the U.S. federal government *Federal Protective Service (Russia) The Federal G ...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...

(which includes the

United States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is responsible for secu ...

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

(which includes Homeland Security Investigations), the

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...

, 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 ...

and the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

. The current secretary of homeland security is Kristi Noem, since January 25, 2025.

List of secretaries of homeland security

Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there existed an assistant to the president for the Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in 2001. ;Parties (7) (4) (5) ;Status a. James Loy served as acting secretary in his capacity as

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 ...

. b. Rand Beers served as acting secretary in his capacity as

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands. Catholicis ...

Undersecretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; Beers was the highest ranking Senate-approved presidential appointee at the Department of Homeland Security. c. Elaine Duke served as acting secretary in her capacity as

. d. Kevin McAleenan served as acting secretary in his capacity as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. His tenure was ruled unlawful. e. Chad Wolf served as acting secretary in his capacity as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans. His tenure was ruled unlawful. f. Peter Gaynor served as acting secretary in his capacity as

Administrator. g. David Pekoske served as acting secretary in his capacity as Administrator of the

h. Benjamine Huffman served as acting secretary in his capacity as Director of the

Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC; pronounced ) is a law enforcement training school under the United States Department of Homeland Security, serving 105 federal law enforcement agencies within the United States federal governm ...

Order of succession

While appointment of acting officials is generally governed by the

Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (commonly called the Vacancies Act) ( ''et seq.'') is a United States federal statute establishing the procedure for filling vacancies in an appointed office of an executive agency of the government ...

(FVRA), the

Homeland Security Act of 2002 The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002 () was introduced in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and subsequent mailings of anthrax spores. The HSA was cosponsored by 118 members of Congress. The act passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of ...

creates exceptions to FVRA, mandating that the

under secretary of homeland security for management 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 a ...

is third in the line of succession for Secretary of Homeland Security, and establishes an alternate process by which the secretary can directly establish a line of succession outside the provisions of the FVRA. As of November 8, 2019, the order of succession is as follows. However, the legality of this update was challenged. #

# Under Secretary for Management # Commissioner of the

# Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans # Administrator and Assistant Secretary of the Transportation Security Administration # Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Formerly, an April 10, 2019 update to the DHS Orders of Succession, made pursuant to the

, provided a different order in the case of unavailability to act during a disaster or catastrophic emergency: # Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security # Under Secretary for Management # Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection # Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency # Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency # Under Secretary for Science and Technology # Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis # Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration # Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement # Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services # Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans # General Counsel # Deputy Under Secretary for Management # Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection # Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration # Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement # Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services # Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers As a result of Executive Order 13753 in 2016, the order of succession for the secretary of homeland security was as follows: # Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security # Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management # Administrator of the

Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs The Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Director, as head of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at DHS, is the ...

Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Under Secretary, as head of the Science and Technology Directorate at DHS, is the pr ...

# Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis #Commissioner of

#Administrator of the

#Director of

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. History The USCIS is a successor to the Im ...

# Assistant Secretary for Policy #General Counsel of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

#Deputy Under Secretary for Management #Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection #Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration #Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement #Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services #Director of the

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC; pronounced ) is a law enforcement training school under the United States Department of Homeland Security, serving 105 federal law enforcement agencies within the United States federal governm ...

Administration-cited potential nominees

Bernard Kerik

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

nominated

Bernard Kerik Bernard Bailey Kerik (September 4, 1955 – May 29, 2025) was an American consultant, police officer, and convicted felon who was the 40th Commissioner of the New York Police Department from 2000 to 2001. Kerik joined the New York City Police D ...

for the position in 2004. However a week later, Kerik withdrew his nomination, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny.

Raymond Kelly

By July 2013,

Raymond Kelly Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is an American police officer who was the longest-serving New York City Police Commissioner, Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first person to hold the ...

had served as

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

(NYPD) for nearly 12 straight years. Within days of Homeland Security secretary

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...

's announcement that she was resigning, Kelly was soon cited as an obvious potential successor by New York senator

Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from New York, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Democratic Party, he has led the Senate Democratic Caucus si ...

and others. During a July 16, 2013, interview, President Obama referred generally to the "bunch of strong candidates" for nomination to head the

, but singled out Kelly as "one of the best there is" and "very well qualified for the job". Later in July 2013, the online internet news website/magazine ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' detailed "a growing campaign to quash the potential nomination of New York City Police commissioner Raymond Kelly as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security" amid claims of "divisive, harmful, and ineffective policing that promotes stereotypes and profiling". Days after that article, Kelly penned a statistics-heavy ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

opinion article An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...

defending the NYPD's programs, stating "the average number of stops we conduct is less than one per officer per week" and that this and other practices have led to "7,383 lives saved—and... they are largely the lives of young men of color." Kelly was also featured because of his NYPD retirement and unusually long tenure there in a long segment on the

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

program '' Sunday Morning'' in December 2013, especially raising the question of the controversial "stop and frisk" policy in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the long decline and drop of various types of crimes committed.

Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security

Purpose

The Office of the Secretary (OS) oversees the execution of the duties of the Department of Homeland Security. Certain elements also aid the Secretary of Homeland Security and senior officials of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as private sector and government partners in their duties.

Composition

The Office of the Secretary contains several offices and other elements of the DHS. Most of the heads of these elements report directly to the Secretary or Deputy Secretary, but the Military Advisor and Executive Secretary report to the DHS Chief of Staff, a position that is currently vacant since January 2025. While DHS Secretary

Kristi Noem Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem ( ; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving as the 8th United States secretary of homeland security since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served from 2019 to 2025 as the 33rd ...

was participating in an immigration raid on April 8, 2025, she was accompanied by former Trump campaign manager and senior adviser

Corey Lewandowski Corey R. Lewandowski (; born September 18, 1973) is an American political operative, lobbyist, political commentator and author who is politically associated with Donald Trump. He was the first campaign manager of Trump's 2016 presidential ca ...

, who introduced himself to the federal agents as “chief of staff.” DHS later clarified that he is an adviser to DHS and a special government employee.

References

External links

* , - {{Navboxes , list = {{USSecHS {{DHS agencies {{US military navbox {{US Cabinet leaders {{US presidential line of succession

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 ...

Interior ministers