The Trump administration has dismissed U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Lee Fagan, marking her as the first woman to lead a branch of the armed forces, according to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters on Tuesday.
Fox News, the first outlet to report on the dismissal, indicated that Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman terminated Fagan due to her prioritization of diversity issues over border security. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have not yet responded to inquiries regarding this matter, and attempts to reach the Coast Guard and Fagan were unsuccessful.
Although the Coast Guard is classified as an armed service, it operates under the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Pentagon.
Elon Musk, a Trump advisor overseeing the new administration’s cost-cutting initiatives across federal agencies, hinted at the administration’s stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in a post on X, though he did not directly confirm Fagan’s firing. Musk stated, “Undermining the U.S. military and border security to spend money on racist/sexist DEI nonsense is no longer acceptable.”
Trump has pledged to abolish DEI programs within federal agencies. Earlier reports from Fox News referenced an unnamed senior official from the Department of Homeland Security, who claimed that Fagan’s dismissal was linked to issues surrounding border security, recruitment challenges, and a perceived “erosion of trust.” The official pointed to failures in addressing border security threats, retaining staff, mismanagement in acquisitions, and an excessive emphasis on DEI initiatives.
In 2021, former President Joe Biden appointed Fagan as the head of the Coast Guard, making her the first woman to serve as a uniformed leader of a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Discover more from Defence Talks | Defense News Hub, Military Updates, Security Insights
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
