Three Expectations For The U.S. Coast Guard In 2025 Under A Second Trump Administration

For more than 230 years, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has played a critical role in ensuring maritime safety, security and environmental stewardship through its far-reaching and evolving missions. Barring any extraordinary circumstances, the service will continue into 2025 with a "business as usual" approach. Within the evolving political landscape, focus is expected to be on economic and national security, innovation and energy policies that could affect the Coast Guard. How the Coast Guard addresses its challenges will impact the commercial maritime sector.

A Regulatory Agency in an Era of Deregulation

If past trends are any indication, the Coast Guard may experience a regulatory freeze where federal agencies halt work on rulemakings to assess alignment with the incoming administration's priorities, likely favoring deregulation. This could influence the Coast Guard's development of regulations to implement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) performan