Weeks after the Coast Guard commandant personally called lawmakers to reassure them that swastikas and nooses would remain banned hate symbols within the service, the Guard quietly broke its pledge and diminished the severity of such displays as “potentially divisive” instead — the very language that had prompted outrage from lawmakers and the Jewish community.

Leading Democrats erupted in outrage on the news of the Coast Guard’s policy shift, while Republicans have thus far largely been silent.

The Washington Post first broke the news about the Coast Guard’s changed policy on hate symbols.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, under whose jurisdiction the Coast Guard falls, to demand the policy be reversed immediately.

“It is now clear that the Coast Guard had no intention of backing down, and today they quietly allowed this abhorrent policy to go into effect,” Blumenthal said. “This edict besmirches the Coast Guard’s honor, and DHS should be ashamed.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said in a statement that the policy “must be reversed immediately.”

“Allowing racism and antisemitism to fester in our armed forces is wrong, harmful to our military readiness, and makes all of us less safe. Americans across the country were disgusted when news about this proposed change broke last month. I had hoped the Trump Administration was sufficiently shamed into backtracking when it called that reporting an ‘absolute ludicrous lie and unequivocally false,’” Kaine said. “By moving forward with this absurdly dangerous policy, it’s clear this Administration will stop at nothing to reach a new low.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called the policy “indefensible” and “a stain on our country” at a time of rising antisemitism.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said the administration should be “ashamed for downplaying the meaning of these symbols.”

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a co-chair of the House antisemitism task force, said on Wednesday that the policy “shows complete tone-deafness on the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security.”

“In light of the horrific events at Bondi Beach and as a Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, I will continue to stand against antisemitism in all forms. Admiral Lunday will have to clarify his Nov 20 memo condemning this policy in light of the now-enacted policy from the Commandant at his upcoming confirmation hearing,” Bacon continued.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who introduced a House bill that aimed to codify the existing Coast Guard policy on the issue, expressed outrage at the reversal.

“The shocking news from the Coast Guard exposes a crisis of conscience enabled by the Trump administration’s stunning lack of moral clarity,” Torres told Jewish Insider. “Their move to downgrade swastikas and nooses to merely ‘potentially divisive’ was an absurd and disgraceful betrayal of every servicemember. We must pass my legislation immediately to codify a zero-tolerance ban and permanently crush this institutional bigotry.”

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a co-chair of the House antisemitism task force who signed a joint statement with fellow co-chairs in response to the initial change, told JI that the administration had lied when it said it would be correcting the policy.

“Antisemitism in all forms is unacceptable. The Trump Administration lied right to the American people’s faces when they indicated last month that they weren’t going through with this policy change,” Stevens said. “Downgrading the seriousness of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses — whether in the Coast Guard or any other arm of the U.S. government — is despicable and unacceptable. I will always stand with the Jewish community and fight back against attempts to delegitimize the evil of antisemitism and hate in our country.”

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), also a task force co-chair, told JI that the Coast Guard itself acknowledged that the swastika should not be accepted.

“As the Coast Guard previously acknowledged in initially reversing this terrible decision, these are quintessential symbols of hate, not ‘divisive symbols’ or abstract icons,” Goldman said. “The Coast Guard’s policy change is either blatant discriminatory or pure incompetence. It must be reversed.”

Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), another task force co-chair, also highlighted that the Coast Guard had broken its word to lawmakers.

“Just a few weeks ago, the U.S. Coast Guard told lawmakers it would reverse this policy. Now, they are doubling down on it,” Meng told JI. “Swastikas and nooses are not just ‘potentially divisive.’ They are symbols of hate, and their harassment policy should reflect that. There is no question that this decision should be reversed immediately.”

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), upon being told about the reversal, said that the change is “outrageous” and noted that — given the recent publicity — the issue is now known to the “highest levels” of the administration.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), a co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, emphasized that Coast Guard officials had come to the Hill last month to reassure lawmakers that the policy would not be implemented.

“It is abundantly clear an antisemite and racist in the Trump Administration is forcing this policy to be in place,” Nadler said. “This reprehensible decision must be reversed.”

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) said in a statement the latest policy change contradicted the “explicit message” of the Coast Guard just weeks ago.

“The confusion and contradiction that surrounds this debacle needs to be fixed completely and comprehensively, without any legalese,” Courtney continued. “The sacred reputation of the Coast Guard is at stake with this fiasco, and for the sake of its reputation and future standing, I join my other House colleagues in imploring Coast Guard leadership to act swiftly.”

The Anti-Defamation League said that the policy is “unacceptable” and that “the Coast Guard should immediately fix this policy and make clear that hate has no place in our military.”

A Washington Post report that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika as a hate symbol under a new policy set to be implemented next month is garnering condemnation from Jewish groups and Democratic officials.

According to the report, the new policy will classify the Nazi emblem as “potentially divisive.” It is also set to apply to nooses.

Acting Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday denied the reports, saying “The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false. These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy. Any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished.”

Coast Guard spokesperson Jennifer Plozai, however, told the Washington Post that the Coast Guard would be “reviewing the language” of the new policy.

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), the ranking member of the House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the Department of Homeland Security, said she’d met with Lunday on Thursday evening and he had committed to changing the policy and publishing an updated version on Thursday evening.

She said that Lunday had “assured us that there is a[n] across-the-board prohibition on hate symbols, including swastikas and nooses.” She said the policy would also make clear that there will be “zero tolerance” for “any display” of such symbols in the Coast Guard.

“The swastika and the noose aren’t ‘potentially divisive.’ They are explicit symbols of antisemitism and hate. Treating them as anything less than hate symbols is a dangerous mistake,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

“Nazi swastikas are not ‘divisive.’ They are antisemitic,” the American Jewish Committee said in a statement. “They represent a regime responsible for the murder of six million Jews and insult the hundreds of thousands of Americans who gave their lives to defeat the Nazis 80 years ago.”

The AJC called on Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, under whose jurisdiction the Coast Guard falls, to “reverse these deeply troubling guidelines immediately.”

Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs said, through the amended policy, “the Coast Guard is doing nothing less than normalizing violent extremism.”

Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told Jewish Insider the policy marks as “dark and unprecedented moment in our country’s history,” in conjunction with President Donald Trump’s recent comments accusing Democrats of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” 

“This signaling to right-wing extremists and antisemites — combined with the President’s explicit threat of political violence — is depraved, unconscionable, shocking, and incredibly dangerous, including for Jews,” Soifer continued.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that, “Granting hate symbols like swastikas & nooses even an ounce of respectability is absolutely an anathema.” 

“Sec. [Kristi] Noem should be ashamed & Americans outraged. This edict besmirches the Coast Guard’s honor & should be immediately reversed,” he continued. 

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) called the policy change “indefensible.”

Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Mark Veasey (D-TX), Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Grace Meng (D-NY), co-chairs of the House Antisemitism Task Force, issued a statement condemning the decision.

“By eliminating the terminology of ‘hate incident’ symbols at a time of rising antisemitism and increasing hate, the Coast Guard risks emboldening those who seek to intimidate or target Jewish Americans, Black Americans, and other minority communities,” the lawmakers said. “This change sends a chilling signal to American Jews at a moment when antisemitic incidents have already hit record highs in the United States. This policy change must be reversed immediately.” 

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), also a co-chair of the task force, said, “This would be an egregious move on the part of the Administration if true.” 

“The Department of Homeland Security is outright refuting and another outlet has confirmed it reporting that officials say they are still covered under the new language and will not be tolerated,” Bacon said. “We need some clarity on this issue and the Coast Guard should make it 100% clear. It would help if the Coast Guard had a Commander, as the position has been vacant for many months.”

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) wrote to Lunday, the Coast Guard commandant, expressing “deep concern” and “strong opposition” to the policy, and said that the policy change should be reversed immediately and requested an explanation of the policy change, who was involved and how the Coast Guard will “reaffirm its zero-tolerance posture toward racism and antisemitism.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is Jewish and a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said that he “helped build a Holocaust museum so future generations would understand the horror of the swastika — not watch our own government rebrand it, the noose, and the Confederate flag as merely ‘potentially divisive.’ These are symbols of mass murder and racial terror. The Trump Administration must reverse this immediately. You do not sanitize evil. You confront it.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said that the policy “is vile and horrific.”

“Swastikas and nooses aren’t ‘potentially divisive’; they are longstanding and well known representations of genocide and lynchings,” he said. “The Trump Administration is looking to take us back all the way to the era of the Nazi Party and the Jim Crow South.”

He dismissed the Coast Guard’s denials, saying that the “administration is trying to claim they don’t mean what the policy says,” and should withdraw and disavow the policy.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, posted on X, “Welcome to Donald Trump’s America—where it’s fine to be a Nazi or in the KKK.”

Doug Emhoff, the former second gentleman and a leader of the Biden administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism, said on X, the change is “Completely wrong and unacceptable. Leaders cannot remain silent on this if they are serious about combatting antisemitism and hate.”