Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today accepted the resignation of John W. Magaw, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security.
Magaw, who has headed the Transportation Security Administration since January 28, will be replaced by James M. Loy. Upon his retirement as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Loy was recently named Deputy Under Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the TSA.
“John Magaw is a dedicated public servant with a lifetime of achievements in the law enforcement field, and we all owe him a debt for his role in the start-up phase of TSA,” Secretary Mineta said. “I also appreciate the difficulty of the task. Creating a nationwide system customized to 429 very busy commercial airports is a huge challenge.
“We are extremely fortunate that Jim Loy has agreed to serve as our
new head of the TSA.
Admiral Loy has amply demonstrated his ability to motivate and manage a large federal agency when he was commandant of the Coast Guard. Jim Loy is the right man for this job, at the right time.
“As a senior member of our DOT team for many years, Jim Loy already knows the players, the policies and the issues involved in transportation security. He is a superb manager, with impeccable credentials in security, intelligence, law enforcement and customer service.
“I have the utmost confidence in his leadership skills, and look forward to working with him to make TSA a success,” Secretary Mineta said.