Coast Guard removes 'potentially divisive' label from hate-symbol policy as Lunday nomination advances

The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday removed references describing hate symbols such as swastikas and nooses as potentially divisive from its policy, a change that coincides with the lifting of a hold on Adm. Kevin Lunday’s nomination to lead the service. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the edits on social media, saying the update was intended to prevent misrepresentation of the Coast Guard’s position and to ensure the record reflects a clear stance against hate symbols.

The revision marks the culmination of a months-long, contentious policy review that had drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and observers. The Department of Homeland Security has said there was never a downgrade in policy language. In the updated guidance, the Coast Guard indicates it will not apply a divisive designation to hate symbols in private spaces, but it also notes that the policy allows removal of symbols from public-facing settings. The service reiterates a zero-tolerance posture toward hate symbols and extremist ideology, stating that it prohibits their display or promotion in any form and that suggestions otherwise are false. These questions and the policy’s evolution were first reported by The Washington Post, with coverage tracking the back-and-forth revisions.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, had placed a hold on Lunday’s nomination after saying leadership appeared to have backtracked on affirming that swastikas and nooses are prohibited from display. On Thursday she announced she was lifting the hold and said she looked forward to working with Lunday to strengthen anti-harassment policies at the Coast Guard. Rosen noted that the policy’s clarified language on hate symbols is a positive development, even as she continued to raise concerns about the process that produced the changes and the confusion seen within the Department of Homeland Security.

Noem had described the delay in confirming Lunday as a politicized holdup and urged the Senate to confirm him without further delay, emphasizing his long service of nearly 39 years to the Coast Guard and the country. She argued that the nomination should proceed promptly and framed the update to policy language as part of the administration’s effort to prevent politicization of Coast Guard rules and to ensure a consistent, enforceable stance against hate symbols.

The policy adjustment is part of a broader DHS effort to strengthen reporting, investigation, and enforcement related to violations of longstanding rules governing harassment and hate symbols. The Coast Guard’s public messaging has stressed that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward hate symbols, extremist ideology, and any conduct that undermines its core values. The department says the latest changes are designed to clarify expectations rather than diminish protections, and it maintains that there was no intention to downgrade protections in any way.

As the nomination advances, the Coast Guard continues to implement and refine its harassment and bias policies across its ranks. Lawmakers will be watching not only for Lunday’s confirmation but also for how the service translates updated policy language into concrete enforcement and training. The evolving discourse around symbols of hate underscores how policy, politics, and public trust intersect in the oversight of a uniformed service with a critical domestic mission.