Adm. Linda Lee Fagan, the former commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, who was terminated from her role last month over concerns about issues including the border, recruitment, and DEI issues, was evicted from her admiral quarters home with three hours of notice on Tuesday, according to an NBC report citing two people familiar with the incident.
Fagan was fired by the Trump administration on the president’s second day in office. She had been given a 60-day waiver to find new housing but was informed at 2 p.m. Tuesday that she had three hours to leave her home at Joint Base Anacostia Bolling in Washington, D.C., per the report.
The short time frame meant that she did not have enough time to remove “many — maybe all — of her personal items and household goods still there,” a former U.S. military official told the outlet. She spent the night with friends, the report states.
Fagan is accused of ineffective deployment of Coast Guard assets to support national border security, including in intercepting fentanyl and other illicit substances. She also is accused of having had insufficient coordination with DHS to prioritize operations along maritime borders.
The DHS official said Fagan had significant failures in recruiting personnel, which worsened issues related to operational readiness. The official added that the lack of innovative strategies to address retention struggles in critical specialties weakened workforce sustainability.
Under her leadership, there were also persistent delays and cost overruns in acquiring essential platforms, including icebreakers and helicopters, that the official said undermined Coast Guard capabilities in the Arctic and other strategic regions. The official further cited inadequate accountability for acquisition failures that were highlighted during Trump’s first administration.
Fagan also prioritized DEI policies, 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.
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sailing off the coast of Key West, Florida. (iStock)
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.
The official said the failure to sufficiently address the systemic issues revealed by the investigation has highlighted a “leadership culture” unwilling to ensure accountability and transparency in protecting service members.
Fagan served as the 27th Commandant of the Coast Guard starting on June 1, 2022. She was tasked with overseeing all global Coast Guard operations and 42,000 active-duty, 7,000 reserve and 8,700 civilian personnel, as well as the support of 21,000 Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers.
