Homeland Security officials with the new Trump administration have fired Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, who in 2022 became the first woman to lead a U.S. military branch.
The termination was first reported by Fox News on Tuesday.
A senior Homeland Security Department official said in a statement to Government Executive that the firing was due to “leadership deficiencies, operational failures and an inability to advance the strategic objectives of [USCG].”
The official said Fagan ineffectively deployed USCG assets to support border security, experienced recruiting shortfalls and had an “excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.”
Some of President Donald Trump’s initial executive actions issued Monday aimed to increase border security and eliminate DEI programs from federal agencies. As for recruitment, USCG reported in 2024 that, for the first time since 2017, the military branch met its recruiting target, bringing on more than 4,400 active duty members.
Vice Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday is leading USCG in an acting capacity.
The DHS official also cited Fagan’s handling of Operation Fouled Anchor as a reason for her removal. The military branch from 2014 to 2020 examined about 100 sexual assault allegations at the Coast Guard Academy that occurred between the late 1980s and 2006 and were generally mishandled. However, USCG did not inform Congress about the investigation until a 2023 CNN report exposed it.
“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 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.”
Following the publicization of Operation Fouled Anchor, Fagan ordered a review that prompted 33 actions to improve USCG’s culture. A little more than half have been implemented, including a safe-to-report policy that protects victims and eyewitnesses who report sexual misconduct from being punished for minor collateral misconduct.
At the end of 2024, members of the House and Senate accused USCG of not complying with their respective investigations into Operation Fouled Anchor.
The X account for Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, one of the congressional panels investigating USCG, posted that the Trump administration was “right to fire Commandant Fagan.”
“Our investigation revealed how USCG concealed Operation Fouled Anchor from Congress, failed to address both historic and persistent sexual misconduct at the USCG Academy and neglected to help victims and hold perpetrators accountable,” the post said. “Accountability is here.”
White House officials, Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who lead the subcommittee investigating Operation Fouled Anchor and Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who lead the panel with jurisdiction over the Coast Guard, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
