Jan. 21 (UPI) — Linda Fagan, the first female admiral of the U.S. Coast Guard, was dismissed by the Trump administration on Monday without explanation.
Fagan, a commandant admiral who was the first female uniformed leader of the Armed Forces branch in U.S. history, was relieved of her duties by acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamin Huffman.
Adm. Kevin Lunday, the former vice commandant of the Coast Guard, will serve as acting commandant in the meantime.
Fagan, the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral, had been commandant of the 42,000 active-member military branch since 2022. There are also 7,000 reservists and 8,700 civilians connected with the Coast Guard.
Nearly three years ago, the Senate unanimously confirmed and promoted Fagan after she was nominated by Biden.
However, she also later faced bipartisan criticism of the Coast Guard’s handling of sexual assault and sexual assault allegations.
The Coast Guard has also faced budget limitations over the years that have prevented the branch from purchasing new boats and repairing old ones, among other concerns related to the branch of service.
