Coast Guard commandant Fagan fired

Coast Guard commandant Adm. Linda Fagan was relieved of her post late Monday, the first in an anticipated purge of upper military ranks by the Trump administration.

Fagan, who in 2022 became the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military, was relieved by Benjamine Huffman, President Donald Trump’s interim homeland security secretary, according to news media and messages to Coast Guard members. Adm. Kevin E. Lunday was named acting commandant.

Fox News reported that Trump administration officials alleged Fagan failed to address border security issues and focused too much energy on Coast Guard diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. So-called DEI programs came under intense fire from Trump during his presidential campaign and he has threatened widespread firings of senior military leadership.

One directive in Trump’s flurry of executive orders ends DEI practices across federal agencies. His designated nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, is similarly hostile and has in the past spoken of firing Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and other top officers.

Fagan critics claim she mishandled Operation Fouled Anchor, the Coast Guard effort to address sexual assault in its ranks and it the Coast Guard Academy. An earlier report on those cases compiled under former commandant Adm. Karl Schultz was withheld from Congress and the public over privacy concerns, and Fagan apologized for the delay.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called the ouster of Fagan “appalling” and suggested she was being scapegoated by the new administration.

 “You're going to fire her over the fact that she wanted to clean up a mess created on a previous watch,” Cantwell said in a CNN interview. “It's the wrong decision."

During her annual State of the Coast Guard address in March 2024, Fagan spoke of the work to repair the Coast Guard’s culture.

“Today we are working aggressively to prevent abuses, listen to and support victims and survivors, and strengthen the service’s culture and commitment to our core values,” she said. Fagan told how the Coast Guard adopted new policies to encourage victims to come forward, and hired a victim advocate, the first ever in a military service, and improved training throughout the workforce.

“We are embarking on a long-term initiative to strengthen our service culture,” Fagan said. “We do not approach this work lightly or with the belief that it will be quick or easy. Strengthening our culture demands consistent work and long-term commitment, and our values must always be reflected in our daily actions and traditions.”