Coast Guard Lt. Cdr. Jesse Millard is up for a promotion to the rank of captain. A past whistleblower complaint and an inspector general’s report is causing some lawmakers to revisit the nomination amid a final vote expected on Thursday afternoon.
Military.com has learned that a letter from a whistleblower, former Coast Guard Commander Dr. Kimberly McLear, was written March 2, 2026, and addressed to all members of the Senate Commerce Committee through an online whistleblower portal prior to a markup session. Millard was first nominated for promotion to captain in November 2023, but had that nomination pulled on March 7, 2024.
McLear denounced Millard’s nomination and strongly discouraged his being promoted, citing a previous independent investigation by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) finding that Millard engaged in career-ending whistleblower retaliation against his subordinate (McLear), amid other accusations including violating the Military Whistleblower Protection Act.
In that March 2 correspondence to the committee, McLear painted a bleak picture of government mistrust, saying that a promotion for Millard would “perpetuate a pattern of institutional failure that Congress has already rightfully and strongly condemned.”
“I was a high-performing, permanent professor at the Coast Guard Academy with the ability to serve my country in uniform for up to 30 years, but my career was cut short by 10 years because of the abuse I endured...
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