Kristi Noem, a 2025 Wash100 Award Winner, has unmatched influence in the second President Trump administration. She not only serves as Homeland Security secretary but plays a key role in implementing Trump’s campaign of improving efficiencies in government contracting and reducing duplicative spending.
As DHS secretary, Noem oversees a $100 billion department that controls procurement for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and more. She has direct authority over the most critical and consequential missions including border security, disaster response, cyber security and law enforcement.
This means Noem’s keynote address at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Homeland Security Summit on November 12 is a can’t-miss opportunity for GovCon executives! Hear directly from the secretary on new contracting priorities and initiatives in FY 2026. Be the first to learn about new partnership opportunities. Secure your seat today for this exclusive presentation by Noem and prepare for boosted revenues to close out 2025!
A Coast Guard Secretary?
Noem supports creating a new secretary position to lead the Coast Guard, according to Fox News Digital. The USCG, unlike the Army, Navy and Air Force, is the only military service that serves as part of DHS (at least during peacetime) and, thus, lacks a top civilian secretary. Noem said a USCG secretary would help it improve how it conducts joint operations with the other services.
Support for the idea is growing both within the Trump administration and on Capitol Hill to revamp the USCG and its standards to better align with the armed services that are part of DOD. Defense Secretary and fellow Wash100 winner Pete Hegseth also supports the idea, saying that establishing a USCG secretary would help it “support the full spectrum of national security operations.”
A pair of influential lawmakers have put forth legislation to establish a USCG secretary. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida’s bill would establish a coast guard secretary and have it report to the DHS secretary. Rep. Mike Ezell of Mississippi has introduced companion legislation in the House.
Offshore Patrol Cutter Partial Cancellation
Noem has already taken action on large contracts. She, in July, partially cancelled an Offshore Patrol Cutter contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group, citing the company’s slow performance. Two of the four OPCs on contract were cancelled.
DHS said ESG’s delivery of OPC 1 was originally due in June 2023, but will now be completed as early as the end of 2026. The company failed to deliver OPC 2 by its April 2024 deadline, according to DHS. The USCG stopped work on OPCs 3 and 4 after ESG told the service it would not be able to deliver all four cutters without “unabsorbable loss.”
The USCG still intends to acquire 25 OPCs. FY 2026 legislation signed into law includes $4.3 billion for nine new OPCs, according to Janes.
Learn broader Trump Administration spending priorities in technology, security and fiscal discipline directly from Noem during her keynote address at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Homeland Security Summit on November 12. Hear her thoughts on which other DHS programs could be targeted for partial cancellation for missed milestones. Sign up today for this highly anticipated GovCon conference and be the first to know which programs will thrive, or struggle, in Trump 2.0.
Increased Scrutiny of DHS Contracts
Noem is requiring her approval of all contracts and awards over $100,000 with a five-day review as part of an effort to reduce waste and redundancy in contracting, according to Federal News Network.
“All proposals for my consideration must include all relevant details, including any mission impact, dollar values, description of the supplies or services, any timeliness issues and a description of the proposed action,” Noem was quoted by FNN as saying.
The directive comes at a busy time for DHS. FNN quoted Deltek data that said DHS spends 45 to 47 percent of its procurement budget in the fourth quarter of a fiscal year, or July to September.
DHS has been continually cancelling contracts throughout the summer. One significant cancellation from the Office of Procurement Operations was for a $333 million award that would have created a DHS-wide indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for IT commodity solutions and value-added reseller services. The contractor would have supplied a wide array of IT hardware, software, managed services and other capabilities, according to a DHS list of cancelled contracts.
ICE Recruitment Blitz
ICE, a division of DHS, has been on an unprecedented recruiting spree with new pay and benefits structures. This is because it is fresh off of more than $150 billion in new funding for immigration enforcement from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill legislation signed over the summer, according to the Wall Street Journal.
These new pay and benefits include:
- Upfront bonuses of up to $50,000
- Improved retirement benefits
- Student loan forgiveness
The campaign is bringing results. Noem said that more than 150,000 people have applied.
