The Senate Commerce Committee voted along party lines Thursday, March 12, 2026, to advance the promotion of Jesse Millard to captain. The promotion next heads to the full Senate for consideration. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Senate Commerce Committee voted along party lines Thursday to advance the promotion of a Coast Guard commander who was found to have retaliated against a subordinate for filing a whistleblower complaint.
Cmdr. Jesse Millard’s promotion divided the panel, with Democrats voicing concerns over a Department of Homeland Security internal watchdog report that confirmed Millard had bullied a former professor at the Coast Guard Academy and violated whistleblower protection laws by giving her unusually low evaluation marks.
Committee members voted 15-13 to promote Millard to captain. The promotion next heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said promoting Millard would be a step in the wrong direction after the reforms enacted in the wake of Operation Fouled Anchor, a series of investigations into the mishandling of sexual assault allegations at the academy that the Coast Guard had kept secret, including from Congress.
“If we intend to ensure there is accountability, then this committee cannot allow the promotion of officers into the Coast Guard senior ranks who have substantiated claims of retaliation in their records,” she said.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the panel, noted that the whistleblower case against Millard was one of only 11 that the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General had found valid out of more than 3,100 complaints filed in recent years.
Former Coast Guard Cmdr. Kimberly McLear lodged several complaints between July 2015 and January 2017 accusing Millard of harassing her when he was her boss. The inspector general confirmed in 2018 that Millard and other officers had acted inappropriately and found that Millard had retaliated against her when she spoke out.
The public version of the report redacted Millard’s name and its findings were not included in his personnel file when he was promoted to commander in 2019.
In 2024, a form known as “Page 7” reflecting the findings was added to Millard’s file after Commerce Committee staff became aware of the watchdog report and notified the Coast Guard, according to congressional aides. Millard’s name was subsequently taken off a list of commanders to be promoted to captain.
In December 2024, Millard requested that an internal Coast Guard review board remove the negative “Page 7” from his file, according to congressional aides. The request was granted in April 2025, and he was again nominated for promotion in February.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the Republican chairman of the Commerce Committee, maintained Thursday that Millard had “done nothing wrong other than obey orders and display honesty and integrity.”
He accused Democrats of attempting to kill Millard’s career and tarnish his reputation and described Millard’s accuser — McLear — as a “serial complainant” who filed repeated unsubstantiated accusations of discrimination and other charges against multiple senior officers.
“At some point, when the complaints are against everyone, the problem isn’t the coworkers or the managers,” he said, later adding, “The real victim here, unfortunately, is Cmdr. Millard, whose reputation is being unfairly tarnished.”
McLear, responding to Cruz’s comments after the vote, said, “my professional record stands.” She said the committee’s decision to move forward with Millard’s promotion was “really devastating” and “incredibly disheartening.”
“I think it sends a chilling message to everyone who’s come forward, survivors and victims, who have experienced retaliation and have never seen any accountability,” McLear said.
McLear wrote a letter to Cruz and Cantwell on March 2 urging them to reject Millard’s promotion. The committee was set to vote on Millard’s nomination on March 4 in its normal committee hearing room but moved the proceedings to an ornate room in the Capitol, without a live video feed, on Thursday.
“This is the first time that we have knowledge of that we’ve ever had a roll call vote on a Coast Guard nominee,” said a Democratic committee aide, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Friday that the department strongly supports Millard’s nomination, citing his “23 years of distinguished and honorable service.” It cast the attacks against him as “nothing more than a politicized hit job.”
