Peter Thomas Gaynor (born 1958) is an American politician who served briefly 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 ...

under President Trump. Gaynor previously served as administrator of 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 ...

(FEMA). He was appointed as Acting Administrator by 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 ...

on March 8, 2019, and became Administrator on January 16, 2020. Gaynor assumed the role of Acting

on January 12, 2021, upon the resignation of

Chad Wolf Chad Fredrick Wolf (born June 21, 1976) is an American former government official and lobbyist who was named the acting United States secretary of homeland security in November 2019. His appointment was ruled unlawful in November 2020. Wolf was ...

. Gaynor was succeeded as Acting DHS Secretary by

David Pekoske David Peter Pekoske (born May 5, 1955) is an American government official and retired United States Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral (United States), vice admiral who served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Ad ...

on January 20, 2021, after President Biden's inauguration.

Early life and education

Gaynor, who grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island, graduated from Pilgrim High School in 1977, and subsequently enlisted in the Marine Corps. He later attended

Community College of Rhode Island The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a public community college in Rhode Island. It is the only community college in the state and the largest community college in New England. The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, wit ...

from 1982 to 1984, and

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Rhode Island, United States, with much of the land in Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, and other parts in North Providence, Rhode Island, North Providence. The college was established in 18 ...

from 1984 to 1986, graduating with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in History. While in the Marines, he earned a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 2001. He completed the Executive Leaders Program at the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

in 2013.

Career

Gaynor served in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

for 26 years, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the executive officer responsible for the security of

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

; was the head of Plans, Policy, and Operations at the Headquarters, Marine Corps, during 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 ...

; and deployed with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force where he coordinated combat operations in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, for multinational and Marine forces. From March 2008 to December 2014, Gaynor was the director of the

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security. A colleague there describes him as being prepared for anything and respectful of the chain of command because of his military experience. From January 2015 to October 2018, Gaynor was the director of the

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA). During that time, RIEMA responded to numerous small and large disasters, including one presidentially declared disaster and at least seven pre-existing active federal disasters. Gaynor oversaw response and recovery efforts to blizzards, floods, tropical storms and public health emergencies. He also coordinated evacuations, mass care, special events, and school safety.

FEMA

Acting Secretary Gaynor Participates in an Inauguration Brief with Vice President Pence

Gaynor was confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018, as the deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). On March 8, 2019, when Administrator

Brock Long William Brockmann Long (born April 6, 1975) is an American emergency manager who served as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He was appointed to the position by President Donald Trump in April 2017 and confirmed ...

returned to the private sector, Gaynor became acting administrator. Gaynor was in charge of the agency's recovery efforts for many disasters, including the

California wildfires This is a partial and incomplete list of wildfires in the US state of California. California has dry, windy, and often hot weather conditions from spring through late autumn that can produce moderate to severe wildfires. Pre-1800, when the a ...

, tornado outbreaks, severe storms, flooding in the Midwest and the Puerto Rico earthquakes. On January 14, 2020, 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 ...

confirmed Gaynor as administrator with a vote of 81 to 8. He was sworn in two days later.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security

With the resignation of

in January 2021, Gaynor became the acting

on January 12, 2021.

Notes

References

External links

Peter T. Gaynor biography
at FEMA * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaynor, Pete 1958 births Community College of Rhode Island alumni Federal Emergency Management Agency officials Living people Naval War College alumni Rhode Island College alumni First Trump administration cabinet members United States Marine Corps officers