How Donald Trump Is Reviving the Coast Guard

Robert C. O’Brien for The National Interest: How Donald Trump Is Reviving the Coast Guard

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How Donald Trump Is Reviving the Coast Guard

The Coast Guard is experiencing an unprecedented and much-needed boost, with expanded reach in the Arctic and Indo-Pacific.

The Coast Guard is a vital, yet underappreciated component of US national security. Our country’s prosperity and economic security hinge on a robust maritime presence that can protect Americans at sea, guard our coastline, and protect our waters from foreign threats. In his first term, President Donald Trump called on the Coast Guard to handle several sensitive matters where speed and avoiding the Pentagon’s bureaucracy were critical. And the USCG delivered. But for too long, the USCG has been left to deteriorate. Our shipbuilding capacity, once a core symbol of American geopolitical and strategic power, was reduced to a dismal state over several decades. The second Trump administration is reversing this decline and making investments that will pay dividends to generations of Americans to come. In his second term, President Trump outlined an unprecedented and historic vision for commercial and military shipbuilding and consolidated the effort under the White House Office of Management and Budget. Led by Russ Vought and his team of shipbuilders, Brian Cavanaugh, Tom William, and Jerry Hendrix, OMB has meticulously converted President Trump’s vision into action. As the architect of fiscal discipline and strategic prioritization, Vought has transformed OMB from a bureaucratic backwater into the engine driving Trump’s Coast Guard revival and has fought tirelessly to champion President Trump’s shipbuilding call. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act directed $25 billion to the service, which is almost twice its annual budget. Included in this funding are billions for the construction of new cutters and icebreakers, delivering a fleet that is not only bigger but also equipped to counter the growing threats to American maritime interests. I do not believe it is an exaggeration to name Trump the father of the modern Coast Guard and Vought the official who delivered the promise. Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) are the backbone of the Coast Guard’s core mission set. These ships excel at drug interdiction, search and rescue operations, and maritime patrolling. When Trump took office, the program languished. It was plagued by supply chain challenges and underfunding from the prior administration. As a result of the reconciliation funding, the Coast Guard signed a $500 million contract to bring an additional 10 cutters into production at Bollinger shipyards, exceeding the original ship plan and giving our American shipbuilders the business they need to keep yards humming with jobs and investment. In just three short years, the USCG will have seventy-seven FRCs in the fleet. Likewise, the Coast Guard plans to use a portion of the expanded funding to build new Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs). These small but lethal ships are essential for extended maritime enforcement operations beyond our 12-mile nautical territorial boundary. These cutters are armed for counter-piracy, migrant interdiction, and counter-narcotics and patrol from the Gulf of America to the Bering Sea. The OPC Program was in desperate need of reform. Between 2012 and 2022, cost estimates had risen by over $5 billion. New funding ushered in by the Trump administration is getting the program back on track by allowing shipbuilders to order long-lead-time materials for additional OPCs.

Among other theaters, the FRCs and OPCs will operate in the Indo-Pacific in packs led by a frigate-sized National Security Cutter. Their presence will send a message to the Chinese that America is not ceding space in the region. Due to their smaller size, these ships can get in and out of ports throughout the South Pacific where our much larger DDGs cannot enter. The Coast Guard will be well-situated to counter the Chinese “blue militia” Coast Guard and even keep an eye on the PLA Navy. They will be based out of Guam, Hawaii, and the soon-to-be-reopened WWII-era base in American Samoa.
Yet the crown jewel of this Coast Guard revival is the icebreaker fleet, a strategic imperative as new trade routes open in the Arctic and critical untapped resources become accessible. Russia and China are rushing to the region, seeking to dominate it and challenge American interests in the Western Hemisphere. Currently, the United States is sorely outmatched, with only two heavy icebreakers. Trump’s bold call for up to 40 icebreakers wasn’t hyperbole; it was a directive OMB has turned into doctrine. The Trump administration secured billions for an estimated 17 new Arctic Security and Polar Security cutters, which provide the long-term investment needed to get shipyards operational. American shipyards in Texas and Florida will benefit from these programs, attracting desperately needed investment and workforce development for US shipbuilding capacity. Exercising this industrial muscle will also reduce overall program costs over time. Additionally, Trump signed a deal with our NATO ally Finland to buy 11 Finnish ice-capable cutters for the Arctic and Antarctica right away. Finland, for its part, will support our industrial base by sharing its icebreaker expertise with American shipyards and by purchasing American-made F-35 fighter jets for its Air Force. Shipyards across the country employ thousands of American workers. Supporting these yards will help revitalize US industrial might and ensure our national security. The Coast Guard, once starved, now eyes dozens of new cutters, a historic expansion of the fleet. These investments will help make the US Coast Guard great again.

About the Author: Robert C. O’Brien

Robert C. O’Brien was the 27th United States National Security Advisor from 2019 to 2021. O’Brien is Chairman of American Global Strategies LLC, whose clients include shipbuilding and maritime companies. He also serves on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB).
 

  • Robert C. O’Brien is the co-founder and chairman of American Global Strategies LLC. He was the 27th United States National Security Advisor from 2019-2021 and serves on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) in President Donald Trump’s second term. Through AGS, he advises corporations on understand how government policy, geopolitical developments, and national security priorities shape business decisions, advising executive leadership facing regulatory complexity, global market exposure, and policy shifts across the United States and key international markets.