President Joe Biden poses for a photo with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, incoming Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan and outgoing Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz at the U.S. Coast Guard Change of Command Ceremony Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
A Michigan lawmaker is among those calling out the Trump administration’s “middle-of-the-night firing” of Adm. Linda Fagan, who served as the first female commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the first woman to head up a branch of the U.S. military.
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids), a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard Subcommittee, said in a statement she was disappointed to learn that President Donald Trump had abruptly fired Fagan and had done so after midnight Tuesday.
“I am proud to have worked with Admiral Fagan to encourage the acquisition of a new Great Lakes Icebreaker, critical to our mission here in the Great Lakes region,” said Scholten, who noted Fagan had made multiple visits to Grand Haven — Coast Guard City, USA — during her tenure.
“Under Admiral Fagan’s leadership, we also saw Coast Guard recruitment and retention rise, which remains one of my top priorities. I thank her for her service to West Michigan and our country,” said Scholten.
In confirming Fagan’s firing, a senior official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, cited “leadership deficiencies” that included dissatisfaction with recruitment and retention. That was despite an announcement last September that the Coast Guard had exceeded its 2024 recruitment target and had for the first time since 2017 achieved all of its recruiting goals for “enlisted active duty, the Reserve, and Non-Academy officer” programs.
The official also cited “efforts surrounding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies,” which appears to be part of the Trump administration’s broader anti-DEI efforts.
In 2023, Fagan apologized on behalf of the Coast Guard for not taking “appropriate action” in cases of sexual assault and harassment at the service’s academy in New London, Conn., that had occurred years before her tenure.
Fagan, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022, replaced now-retired Adm. Karl Schultz, who CNN reported had withheld from Congress the findings of an investigation documenting years of sexual assaults at the academy.
While Fagan had also been criticized for her slow response to providing records on the investigation to Congress, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told the Rhode Island Current her firing was uncalled for.
“I’ve been critical of Adm. Fagan concerning the Coast Guard’s response to problems of sexual assault and harassment in the aftermath of a cover-up executed by her Trump-appointed predecessor,” said Blumenthal. “But this abrupt firing certainly raises concerns about how Donald Trump intends to treat dedicated, professional men and women who have faithfully served our country for decades.”
Fagan is now succeeded as acting commandant by Adm. Kevin Lunday, who had been serving as vice commandant since last June.
Scholten said the Coast Guard deserves strong leadership needed to protect the nation’s maritime borders, and Fagan’s firing seemed at odds with that goal.
“A sudden, middle-of-the-night firing of a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not set our Coast Guard up for success, threatening our mission readiness and national security,” said Scholten. “Ousting Admiral Fagan without announcing a plan for her successor has undermined that stability. I am calling on President Trump to move quickly in appointing a new Commandant and not resort to hasty firings in other branches of our military.”
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