OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:04 AM – Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Trump administration officials have fired Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan over her failure to address border security concerns, her focus on DEI initiatives, and her consistent “leadership deficiencies.”
The now-former Coast Guard commandant was personally terminated by Benjamine Huffman, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, according to Fox News.
The outlet spoke with a senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official, who confirmed that Fagan’s leadership devolved in an “erosion of trust” within the Coast Guard.
The erosion of trust was in large mostly due to the cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was an internal investigation regarding sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy.
Fagan was previously pressed by senators as to why she withheld requested documents and failed to hold those involved accountable during a hearing relating to Operation Fouled Anchor.
The DHS official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the investigation showcased a “leadership culture” with the branch, being unwilling to protect service members and ensure complete transparency.
Fagan was specifically accused of mismanaging Coast Guard assets to effectively support border security efforts, including the seizure of fentanyl and other illegal substances. She also reportedly fell short at recruiting a necessary number of Coast Guard personnel, which overall “weakened the operational readiness” of the branch.
The Trump administration’s decision to fire Fagan signals even more to follow, as Trump previously vowed to expel all “woke” generals and military officials who aren’t fulfilling their duties successfully, and those who have prioritized DEI initiatives over skillset, intellect, and achievements.
“I got to know the real fighting generals. There’s not ‘woke’ in the military. There’s ‘woke’ at the top,” Trump stated last summer.
“They want there to be woke, but these guys aren’t meant for woke. I would fire them. You can’t have a woke military,” he added.
Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, similarly echoed Trump’s sentiments.
“I talked to dozens and dozens of actively serving men and women, junior enlisted high-ranking officers, and they all said the same thing,” Hegseth stated. “We’re walking on eggshells. There’s no accountability. The standards are being lowered, slowly eroded to conform to woke Marxist ideologies the Democrat politicians have pushed into the Pentagon. Pentagon should be the biggest meritocracy in the world. Instead, it’s a social experiment.”
“We all wore green together. We all bleed red together. Who we slept with is not the issue… The issue is how good are you at your job? And are you being promoted because you’re the best rifleman, or you’re the best pilot, or you’re the best tank commander? Not are you the first to this or are you the first that? And that’s the story I tell time and time again,” he added.
Fagan was the first woman to lead any branch of the U.S. military, serving as the 27th Commandant of the Coast Guard beginning on June 1st, 2022.
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