Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Lee Fagan was abruptly fired Monday by the new acting head of the Department of Homeland Security, precipitating a leadership shakeup for the force.
The dismissal of Fagan, 61, was part of a flurry of leadership personnel moves by the new administration just hours after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Overnight, Trump also announced on social media he was dismissing several individuals appointed to federal panels, including removing former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
Trump promised “many more” firings in the near future.
Trump and several of his Cabinet nominees have vowed to refocus the U.S. military on readiness and lethality in their operations, and to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Shortly after his swearing in, Trump signed an executive order banning those practices within federal agencies.
Numerous Democrats reacted with outrage on Tuesday following news of the dismissal.
“Firing a commandant at will by a new president sets a bad precedent,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. “The complexity of the Coast Guard’s diverse missions require continuity to protect lives and American interests.”
The Coast Guard, which has about 45,000 personnel, is a branch of the armed forces but sits within the Department of Homeland Security, rather than the Defense Department. As such, certain rules and policy changes that cover the other services do not cover the Coast Guard, and vice versa.
In a message to the Coast Guard workforce Monday night, acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman — who was appointed to the temporary post about five hours after Trump took office — said he relieved Fagan from the top Coast Guard post and appointed Adm. Kevin Lunday to serve as acting commandant. No reason was given for the move.
“[Fagan] served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to the nation,” Huffman’s message stated.
Fagan had served in the leadership role since June 2022 and was the first uniformed woman to lead a military branch.
Adm. Lunday confirmed he took over as acting commandant in a message to the service.
“Our duty to our nation and the American people we serve remains unchanged, and the Coast Guard remains Semper Paratus. Continue to execute our missions and operations with the excellence we are renowned for,” reads his message.
The senior DHS official gave five reasons for Fagan’s relief. DHS found that Fagan failed to address the border security threats, including interdicting fentanyl and other illicit substances. Law enforcement is part of the tasks of the Coast Guard. A September Government Accountability Office report found that the Coast Guard’s recruiting issues and aging fleet were hampering the service’s ability to police drug smuggling. In November, the Coast Guard seized more than 29,000 pounds of illicit drugs with a street value of nearly $336 million.
DHS also linked Fagan to recruiting shortfalls, adding that she did not bring innovative strategies to address retention challenges. Recruitment is getting better, with the Coast Guard exceeding its goals in the last fiscal year and on track to meet its goals this year, Command Master Chief for the Coast Guard Pacific Area Maria D’Angelo told the audience at a Surface Navy Association national symposium panel last week. Boot camp is already filled until the second week of April, he said.
But it will take three to five years of meeting recruiting goals to heal the gaps, D’Angelo said.
To account for the gaps in people, the Coast Guard introduced the Force Alignment Initiative, which saw the service temporarily shut down some stations, many that had overlapping areas of response, D’Angelo said. That allowed the service to force multiply to the units that needed people.
The senior DHS official also pointed to delays and cost overruns in acquiring icebreakers and helicopters as one of the reasons for Fagan’s relief. The Coast Guard’s current icebreakers are aging and have suffered problems that prevent them from meeting mission requirements. The Coast Guard is in the process of acquiring a commercial icebreaker, which will take two years to convert. The Coast Guard’s first Polar Security Cutter, USCGC Polar Sentinel (PSC-1), is expected to be delivered in 2028, a delay of three years.
Besides people, funding is one of the Coast Guard’s biggest concerns.
Fagan called for an increased budget, going from $14 billion to $20, USNI News previously reported. Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area, echoed those calls in his speech at SNA last week.
“In order to continue being the over force multiplier and strong, trusted partner at home and abroad, and the unique combination of military law enforcement that has been operating around the world, we need to be funded like we are an over $20 billion organization, and we need that fast,” Tiongson said.
The lack of funding has led to issues with the aging fleet, Tiongson said. Many of the ships are well into their lifespans, and he added that the service cannot meet its missions without the modernizing its fleet.
The fourth reason listed for Fagan’s dismissal is the “excessive focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies,” which diverted resources from mission initiatives, according to the senior DHS official’s statement.
The last reason is the mishandling and coverup of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was the investigation into sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy. A House Committee on Oversight and Accountability memorandum found that the Coast Guard withheld the operation from Congress and the public. In the statement, the senior DHS official wrote that the mishandling eroded trust in the Coast Guard among the public and guardsmen.
Fagan, who is the first woman in the Coast Guard to receive four stars, served as vice commandant before the Biden administration tapped her to lead the service. She also served as the head of the Coast Guard Pacific Area before she took over as the Coast Guard’s number two officer.
Written with reports from USNI, Military Times
