First female Coast Guard commandant ousted
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, who made history as the first female uniformed leader of a U.S. military branch, was unexpectedly ousted by President Trump less than 24 hours into his second term.
In a message sent to all Coast Guard members on Tuesday morning, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman said he had relieved Fagan of her duties.
“She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation,” Huffman said, offering no further explanation for her abrupt ouster.
But in a lengthy Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement released Tuesday, the department outlined five major reasons for her removal, many of which center on the Trump administration’s vow to refocus U.S. military operations on readiness and lethality, in part by eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Fagan, 61, was terminated “because of her leadership deficiencies, operational failures, and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard,” a senior DHS official said in the release.
The highlighted pitfalls included a failure to address border security threats through “ineffective deployment of Coast Guard assets … especially in interdicting fentanyl and other illicit substances,” and insufficient coordination with DHS to prioritize operations along maritime borders.
DHS officials also accused Fagan of mismanagement of key acquisitions — including through “delays and cost overruns in acquiring essential platforms, including icebreakers and helicopters, that undermine Coast Guard capabilities in the Arctic and other strategic regions” — prioritizing non-mission-critical initiatives such as DEI policies, and an erosion of trust following an internal investigation into sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy.
Evidence of Fagan’s time as the Coast Guard’s leader was quickly wiped from government websites in the wake of her firing, with the service’s official website for its senior leadership showing a blank space under “Commandant” and her biography page made unavailable.
Fagan, also the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral, had served as the military branch’s 27th commandant since June 1, 2022, after former President Biden chose her to lead the service of 42,000 active-duty, 7,000 reserve and 8,700 civilian personnel.
At the time she took over, Fagan adopted a force that for years had struggled to meet its recruiting goals — including under Trump during his first term. But the Coast Guard was able to meet its goal just last year after it brought on more recruiters.
Still, DHS claimed her “inadequate leadership in recruitment and retention” led to “significant shortfalls in recruiting personnel, further exacerbating operational readiness issues,” while offering no proof to back up the statement.
Also under Fagan, the Coast Guard was hit with a major controversy in Operation Fouled Anchor, an internal probe led by the branch investigating sexual misconduct at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut between 1988 and 2006. The investigation, closed in January 2020 during Trump’s first administration, was not voluntarily disclosed to Congress or the public by the Coast Guard until 2023, as it had been withheld by the service’s commandant at the time, Adm. Karl Schultz.
“The mishandling and coverup of Operation Fouled Anchor has deeply eroded trust in the Coast Guard among the American public, the U.S. Congress, and, most devastatingly, within the ranks of those who have sworn to protect and defend this nation in uniform,” the DHS official said. “The failure to adequately address the systemic issues exposed by this investigation has underscored a leadership culture unwilling to ensure accountability and transparency in protecting service members.”
Fagan, who was grilled over the report by senators in June, acknowledged the service’s “failure to share the report with Congress was a mistake.”
Following news of her firing, Democrats quickly criticized the move, including Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who lauded Fagan for her handling of the Operation Fouled Anchor report.
“The Commandant who stood up to clean up this mess instead of burying it should be rewarded, not dismissed,” she wrote in a multipart social media post. “Firing a Commandant at will by a new President also sets a bad precedent. The complexity of the Coast Guard’s diverse missions require continuity to protect lives and American interests.”
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) also took to the social platform X to declare her firing “an abuse of power that slanders her good name and outstanding record.”
“Under Admiral Fagan, Coast Guard recruitment is up, not down, and drug interdictions too,” he wrote. “Trump’s fecklessness harms morale and confidence in the chain of command.”
Adm. Kevin Lunday, the former vice commandant of the Coast Guard, will take over as acting commandant, according to DHS.
Fagan’s firing is the first of several personnel changes expected to affect top U.S. military members, as Trump has promised to oust the generals and admirals he has deemed “woke.”
And Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, has said eliminating diversity and equity efforts in the military will be a top priority if he’s confirmed.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. CQ Brown Jr., whom Trump had threatened to fire once in power, said Monday he plans to remain in his role as the country’s highest-ranking military official.
Trump just after midnight on Tuesday also announced on social media he was removing several individuals appointed to federal panels, including the dismissal of former Joint Chiefs Chair retired Gen. Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
Trump promised “many more” firings, and soon.
This story was updated at 5:11 p.m.
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