The Trump administration provided the former highest-ranking woman in the military with only three hours to vacate her residence after being removed from her position for advocating diversity, equity, and inclusion measures.
Following President Donald Trump’s dismissal, Coast Guard commandant Admiral Linda L. Fagan was swiftly relieved of her duties, with the news breaking as she awaited a photo opportunity with him during the Commander in Chief ball on January 20.
Despite the sudden termination, Fagan remained in her official residence at Joint Base Anacostia Bolling until she was promptly forced to leave on Tuesday, as per NBC News.
‘It’s petty and it’s personal,’ a friend of Fagan’s claimed.
Coast Guard leaders had initially given the four-star admiral a 60-day waiver to find new housing.
But on Tuesday, Homeland Security officials told the acting commandant, Kevin Lundy, that she needed to vacate because the president wants her out of the quarters.
Lundy reportedly informed Fagan at 2pm on Tuesday that she only had three hours to get out.
‘It’s a really strange power play,’ Fagan’s friend said.
President Trump fired Coast Guard commandant, Admiral Linda L. Fagan , almost immediately after he took office on January 20
Fagan was abruptly evicted from her government-funded housing on Tuesday
Fagan continued to live at her government-funded home on Joint Base Anacostia Bolling (pictuntil she was abruptly evicted on Tuesday
Shortly after that, Fagan’s team reportedly received a call from aides to Sean Plankey, a Department of Homeland Security senior adviser and retired Coast Guard officer, instructing her to leave the house unlocked so the interior could be photographed.
But Fagan pushed back on DHS’ efforts to take photos.
‘I do not authorize them to come into my house, whether I’m there or not,’ the admiral reportedly told another Coast Guard official.
Lunday then relayed that message back to Plankey’s team, noting that any attempt to access the house would amount to trespassing, sources familiar with the eviction said.
Yet Fagan did decide to leave the home ‘with many – maybe all – of her personal items and household goods still there,’ a former US military official said.
She then reportedly spent the night with friends.
US Transportation Command is now responsible for moving all of her personal effects out of the house, and a DHS official claimed she was given a different place to stay.
That official, however, was unable to ascertain whether the directive came straight from President Trump or whether his name had been used without his knowledge.
The four-star admiral reportedly protested the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to photograph her quarters
Still, the unidentified official said the eviction order made sense.
‘She was terminated with cause two weeks ago today, and she was still living in those admiral quarters,’ he said.
In the Department of Homeland Security’s message announcing Fagan’s termination, acting Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman touted her ‘long and illustrious career’ as it thanked ‘her for her service.’
But the department later revealed in a statement that Fagan was removed from her position because of ‘leadership deficiencies, operational failures and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard’ including a failure to secure the border and stop drugs from entering the United States.
The statement also accused Fagan of failing to recruit and retain personnel and had an ‘excessive focus’ on DEI programs.
Biden nominated Fagan as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard in April 2022
She had even previously stated: ‘Diversity was definitely not there when I entered into the service…
‘The reason it’s critical is because diverse work teams outperform, homogenous teams,’ Fagan told Military Families Magazine in 2023. ‘They’re just stronger, more resilient, have better perspectives and deeper strength of thought.’
Biden nominated Fagan as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard in April 2022, as her supporters hailed her as the first female admiral in a position of leadership of one of the armed forces branches.
