Coast Guard officer promotion advanced by Senate Republicans despite IG finding of whistleblower retaliation

A group of Senate Democrats on Tuesday requested that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin urge the White House to withdraw the pending promotion of a Coast Guard officer who they say has been found to have retaliated against a whistleblower. 

In their letter, the lawmakers wrote that the inspector general for the Homeland Security Department in 2018 determined that Commander Jesse Millard retaliated against a subordinate after she filed a complaint against him and other Coast Guard leaders. 

Names were redacted in the IG report that the senators cited, but the document states that investigators found the “totality of evidence” showed that a lieutenant commander stationed at the Coast Guard Academy would have received higher evaluation marks if she hadn't submitted discrimination and harassment complaints against her superiors. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., one of the letter’s signers, said during a Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee meeting in March that advancing Millard’s promotion would contravene progress that lawmakers and the Coast Guard have made since the public disclosure of Operation Fouled Anchor — an internal review of mishandled sexual assault allegations at the service's Academy from the late 1980s to 2006 that officials did not inform Congress about. 

“Supporting Commander Millard's promotion would be a step in the wrong direction from all the critical work that we have done since Operation Fouled Anchor,” she said. “If we intend to ensure there is accountability, then this committee cannot allow the promotion of officers into the Coast Guard's senior ranks who have substantiated claims of retaliation in their records.”

Ultimately, the panel voted to advance Millard’s promotion to become a captain in a 15-13 party-line vote. The full Senate has not yet voted on the nomination. 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the chairman of the Commerce panel, said during the meeting that Millard was the “real victim.” 

“The complainant in question filed repeated unsubstantiated accusations of discrimination and other charges against multiple senior officers,” he said. “At some point when the complaints are against everyone, the problem isn't the co-workers or the managers.”

While the IG substantiated the whistleblower retaliation allegation, investigators were not able to confirm some of the other related accusations. In response to the review, however, the watchdog did recommend that the Coast Guard require commanders to document in writing the reasons for their findings with respect to bullying and harassment complaints and mandate supplemental training for supervisors and managers on the service’s anti-discrimination, harassment and bullying policies. 

Cruz also said the whistleblower “sought to pull strings” with Biden DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who she worked for when he was deputy DHS secretary during the Obama administration, by discussing her complaints at the time with him. 

DHS backed Millard’s promotion in a statement to Government Executive. 

“The Department of Homeland Security strongly supports the nomination of Coast Guard Commander Jesse Millard, following 23 years of distinguished and honorable service,” a department spokesperson said. “These attacks are nothing more than a politicized hit job against an outstanding officer who deserves promotion.”

Along with Baldwin, Tuesday’s letter to Mullin was signed by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Commerce panel, Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Coast Guard, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., co-chair of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus.