Peter Vance Neffenger (born 1955) is a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

Admiral and public servant who served as 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 ...

from July 2015 to January 20, 2017.

Education

Neffenger earned a B.A. from

Baldwin Wallace University Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio, United States. Established in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin, it merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace ...

. He holds an MPA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the

United States Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

, and an MA in Business Management from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

Career

United States Coast Guard

Neffenger joined the Coast Guard in 1981 and was commissioned in 1982 through the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School. Vice Admiral Neffenger is a member of the

Pacific Council on International Policy The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

and a former fellow on the

Senate Appropriations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest committ ...

. Neffenger was a

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 ...

in the

, serving 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 ...

since May 20, 2014. He previously had served as Deputy Commandant for Operations, Deputy National Incident Commander for the 2010 ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill, Director of Coast Guard Strategic Management and Doctrine, Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach, Captain of the Port and Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, Budget Officer of the Coast Guard, and Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Territory of American Samoa.

Transportation Security Administration

On April 28, 2015, he was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to be the administrator of the

. On June 23, 2015, Vice Admiral Neffenger was confirmed by the Senate to be the next Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

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 ...

Secretary

Jeh Johnson Jeh Charles Johnson ( "Jay"; born September 11, 1957) is an American lawyer and former government official. He was United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2012, Johnson was the general counsel of the Departm ...

released a statement on June 24: "Last night the Senate voted 81–1 to confirm Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger, the current Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, to be the next Administrator of TSA. Admiral Neffenger understands the challenges we face, and I know he is ready to take them on at TSA. During his 30-year career in the Coast Guard, Admiral Neffenger proved himself to be an effective operator and commander. I have utmost faith in Pete Neffenger, and I am confident he will be a strong leader of TSA." On March 22, 2016, a flight carrying Neffenger arrived at

Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is the main international airport of Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, northeast of Brussels. Also informally known as Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport, Brussels ...

during the dual bombing that occurred at the airport. Neffenger was in Brussels to meet with

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

counterparts. Testifying a few days later in front of the

United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...

, Neffenger said, “I will tell you being there that day, seeing the devastation, seeing the chaos of the airport environment and the evil behind it was a stark reminder of the importance of the work we do every day to protect travelers.” On January 20, 2017, upon the beginning of the

Presidency of Donald Trump Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

, Neffenger stepped down as Administrator as required by federal law as his term had expired with

leaving office.

Other work

Since leaving TSA, Neffenger was a distinguished fellow at the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

's Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience from 2017-2019 and at Northeastern University's Global Resilience Institute. In November 2019, Neffenger was appointed as a Director o
AET
one of the leading global owners and operators of maritime transportation assets and specialized services. In November 2020, Neffenger was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support Presidential transition efforts related to the

. Neffenger was chairman of the Board of Directors of

Smartmatic Smartmatic (also referred as Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International), or Smartmatic SGO Group, is a multinational company that builds and implements electronic voting systems. The company also produces smart cities solutions (including ...

USA, a multinational company that specializes in building and implementing electronic voting systems, from November 2018 to February 2025. He no longer serves on this board

Personal life

Neffenger resides in Washington, D.C.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neffenger, Peter V. 1955 births Living people Transportation Security Administration officials United States Coast Guard admirals Harvard Kennedy School alumni Vice Commandants of the United States Coast Guard Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Obama administration personnel Baldwin Wallace University alumni Naval War College alumni Central Michigan University alumni