Rick Scott Lifts His Blockade on Coast Guard Promotions

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida lifted his monthslong hold on promotions within the Coast Guard on Thursday, reversing course amid an ongoing conflict with a shipbuilder.

Scott held up hundreds of promotions beginning in April over a dispute involving a government contract with the Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group. The senior senator had blocked the upper chamber’s ability to quickly clear large batches of Coast Guard officers through unanimous consent instead of roll call votes.

“As I have said from the beginning, I care deeply about these Coast Guard promotions. Though we’re still not done, I’m lifting these holds as all parties have been working together in good faith and are moving towards an amenable agreement,” Scott said in a statement Thursday, adding that the Coast Guard procurement process still needs fixes.

Scott’s block stemmed from concerns about the Coast Guard’s $2.38 billion contract to build new Offshore Patrol Cutter vessels, which was awarded to Eastern Shipbuilding Group in 2016 — and faced major setbacks since.

During the first phase of construction, the company’s original contract to build up to nine ships dropped down to four vessels following damage from Hurricane Michael in 2018. In July 2025, then-Homeland Security Department Secretary Kristi Noem canceled the construction of two of the remaining four ships after ESG missed multiple delivery deadlines and could not fulfill its contractual obligations. Four months later, the company announced it would stop work on the other two boats “due to significant financial strain caused by the program’s structure and conditions.”

The delivery of the first ship was initially scheduled for 2021, but five years later, no ships have been finished. An Alabama-based builder, Austal USA, was selected in 2022 to build up to 11 vessels to complete the fleet.

“We cannot allow critical shipbuilding projects to languish over budget and behind schedule,” a senior Homeland Security official said last July. “This action redirects resources to where they are most needed, ensuring the Coast Guard remains the finest, most-capable maritime service in the world.”