President Barack Obama selected a veteran U.S. Coast Guard leader to succeed John Pistole at the helm of the Transportation Security Administration. Yesterday, Obama announced his intent to nominate Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger as TSA administrator and assistant secretary for transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security. “The talent and expertise Vice Admiral Neffenger brings to his new role after more than three decades at the U.S. Coast Guard will be valuable to the Administration’s efforts to strengthen transportation security,” Obama said.

Neffenger joined the Coast Guard in 1981 and has held numerous roles there, including vice commander; deputy commandant for operations; director of strategic management and doctrine; and deputy national incident commander for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Senate Commerce Committee chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) promised prompt consideration of the nomination, citing concern from both sides of the aisle over the months that a permanent TSA Administrator has not been in place. Pistole departed the agency at the end of last year. Vice Admiral Neffenger’s lengthy military service “offers a strong indication of essential leadership skills and an understanding of the threats our nation faces,” Thune said.