The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has been terminated over concerns about the border, recruitment and an “erosion of trust,” a senior DHS official confirmed to Fox News.
Adm. Linda Lee Fagan, 61, has been terminated by the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman, the official said.
Fagan has demonstrated leadership deficiencies, operational failures and an inability to advance the strategic objectives of the Coast Guard.
These include the failure to address border security threats, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and an “erosion of trust” over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was the Coast Guard’s internal investigation into sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy.
Fagan also made DEI policies a priority, including at the Coast Guard Academy, which diverted resources and focus from operational essentials.
In Operation Fouled Anchor, the cover-up of sexual assaults at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy “deeply eroded trust” in the Coast Guard among the American public, the U.S. Congress and the military. The Coast Guard did not disclose the existence of Operation Fouled Anchor until 2023, despite its existence from 2014 to 2019.
Fagan was grilled by senators over the summer when she testified at a hearing on Capitol Hill, where she was questioned for not holding anyone accountable for the cover-up and withholding additional documents congressional lawmakers requested about the mishandling of the problem at the service’s academy.