- Edgar to deliver 2026 Homeland Security Summit opening keynote on Nov. 10 in Tysons Corner
- Oversees $100 billion budget and 260,000 employees
- Drones, intel sharing and the Arctic in focus
Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, the Department of Homeland Security’s second-ranking official and chief operating officer, will deliver the opening keynote address at Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 10 at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. His remarks will kick off a full day of discussion among DHS component leaders and industry executives on the technologies, contracts and partnerships the department is counting on to protect the homeland.
Few officials can speak to DHS from as many angles as Edgar. He has run the department’s finances, sold solutions to federal agencies as an IBM partner and now manages the day-to-day operations of one of the government’s most sprawling enterprises. For contractors trying to read where DHS is headed in fiscal 2027 and beyond, the 2026 Homeland Security Summit‘s opening keynote is one to hear in person.
How Is Edgar Running DHS Day to Day?
As deputy secretary, Edgar supports the secretary and serves as the chief operating officer managing the department’s day-to-day operations and $100 billion annual budget, supporting 260,000 employees. He works under Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who took the helm of DHS after President Donald Trump transitioned Kristi Noem out of the role earlier this year.
In his prepared statement to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee ahead of his 2025 confirmation, Edgar described the job as, above all, a matter of execution.
He committed to “effectively and efficiently using the policies and resources provided” to meet the president’s goals on immigration, border and DHS’ other national security missions.
Edgar has kept that focus squarely on results. Since Mullin took the helm, DHS has pushed about $6 billion in FEMA funds out to states and communities, Edgar told House lawmakers in June, FedScoop reported.
He is also streamlining how the department’s intelligence enterprise operates. At a June House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the fiscal 2027 budget, Edgar outlined a consolidation within the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management that would move back-office functions, such as separate CFOs and procurement leads, out of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, or I&A. The change frees I&A to concentrate on the 88 fusion centers it supports nationwide, where it connects federal intelligence with local law enforcement.
“We are the key line between the intelligence community and the law enforcement community,” Edgar said of I&A’s role.
Edgar has been an equally visible champion of the Coast Guard’s Force Design 2028 overhaul, backed by a $25 billion injection from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. While commissioning the cutter Earl Cunningham in Kodiak, Alaska, last year, he argued that where the 20th century was defined by the arms race and the space race, the current one belongs to the far north.
“Our security and prosperity will be defined by the race to the arctic,” he said.
Save your seat at the 2026 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 10 to learn DHS technology priorities right from Deputy Secretary Edgar.
What Has Edgar Said About Working With Industry?
Edgar’s perspective on government-industry collaboration was forged on both sides of the table. In a 2023 ExecutiveBiz Spotlight interview, conducted while he was a partner in IBM’s federal business, he said his time as a federal client at DHS convinced him that strategic industry partnerships were the key to success.
“Solutions to today’s government challenges cannot be addressed by one vendor alone,” Edgar said.
He described a federal marketplace where rivals routinely become teammates and the mission sets the terms.
“One day you’re competing with them, the next day you’re working with them. It really provides a kind of coequal and professional work environment where the client comes first,” he said.
Edgar also offered a pragmatic view of IT modernization, describing a shift away from reactive, technology-first thinking in the defense health sector.
“I’ve seen a significant shift … from, ‘rip and replace, everything can be fixed by technology’ to ‘let’s step back and plan.’ With this adjustment, the modernization play becomes more strategic, pragmatic and achievable,” he said.
He urged agencies to start with their mission, target operating model and data before buying new tools, and pointed to the value of technology-as-a-service models, in which vendors take on operations and maintenance.
“This allows the agency to focus on their mission versus implementing and maintaining technology,” Edgar said.
What Will Troy Edgar Discuss at the 2026 Homeland Security Summit?
At the 2026 Homeland Security Summit, Edgar may discuss:
- Counter-drone investments: DHS launched a program executive office dedicated to rapidly procuring and deploying drone and counter-drone technologies in January. In August, the department awarded 12 companies spots on a five-year, $1.5 billion counter-unmanned aircraft systems contract split between a hardware track and a services track.
- Intelligence and law enforcement integration: How the I&A consolidation could sharpen information sharing with state and local partners through fusion centers
- Coast Guard modernization: Force Design 2028, new cutters and the push to maintain a U.S. presence in the Arctic
- Major event security: Lessons from the FIFA World Cup and the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which DHS helped secure alongside the departments of Transportation and the Interior, as the department looks ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
- Workforce and funding stability: How repeated funding disruptions have strained recruitment and retention at DHS
- Industry partnership: Where DHS needs contractors most as it modernizes systems and consolidates back-office operations
Who Is Troy Edgar?
Edgar has served as DHS’ ninth deputy secretary since March 2025, when the Senate confirmed him by a bipartisan vote of 53-43. The post marked his return to the department, where he served as chief financial officer during President Donald Trump’s first term. In that role, he was responsible for the fiscal management of a $90 billion budget supporting 240,000 employees and oversaw 10 financial divisions spanning program and cost analysis, budget, risk management, financial operations and workforce development. He previously served as DHS’ associate deputy under secretary for management.
Between his DHS tenures, Edgar was a partner and federal finance and supply chain transformation leader at IBM, where he supported modernization efforts at defense and veterans affairs agencies. He also founded Global Conductor, a management consulting firm he led as CEO and later executive chairman, and was a principal consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Edgar began his industry career at Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, serving as CFO and business operations leader for product support on military transport programs. Before that, he was a submariner in the U.S. Navy.
His public service extends to local government: He spent 12 years as mayor and city councilmember of Los Alamitos, California, and chaired the Orange County Sanitation District.
Marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 alongside the Transportation Security Administration workforce at Reagan National Airport this month, Edgar reflected on the attacks’ lasting influence on his path.
“This changed my life personally and professionally,” he wrote on X.
Why Should GovCons Attend the 2026 Homeland Security Summit?
Edgar’s opening keynote sets up a 2026 Homeland Security Summit agenda built around the priorities he oversees. U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran will also deliver a keynote address.
Attendees can hear from DHS and industry leaders across panels on:
- Counter-UAS coordination, featuring Tony Crane, executive director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s counter-UAS defense capability group, and Cathy Lanier, senior vice president and chief security officer of the NFL
- A federated DHS data and identity fabric, featuring Adam Luke, principal deputy under secretary of I&A, and Dr. Lauren Wind, acting deputy chief technology officer of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Technology validation, featuring Julie Brewer of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate and Coast Guard Capt. Chad Brick, inaugural chief of CG-RAPTOR
- Public-private security collaboration ahead of LA28
The 2026 Homeland Security Summit is where GovCons can hear directly from the officials steering DHS’ spending, and from the peers competing and teaming for that work. This opportunity is unmissable for you and your national security company—register today.
