Trump administration fires four-star Coast Guard chief in firing | News about Donald Trump
Linda Fagan, the first woman to head a branch of the US armed forces, was among those fired by Trump on the first day.
The head of the United States Coast Guard has been removed from her position, as the newly appointed president Donald Trump fulfill his promises to fire top officials.
On Tuesday, US media reported that four-star Admiral Linda Fagan had been fired, less than 24 hours after Trump took office.
She was part of a wave of firings as Trump tried to quickly reshape the executive branch, brandishing a catchphrase carried over from his days as a reality TV star: “You’re fired.”
Fox News first reported Fagan’s removal. In 2022, Fagan became the first woman in uniform to lead a branch of the US armed forces.
According to a statement sent to Coast Guard units and obtained by The New York Times, the new administration deemed Fagan unsuitable for several reasons.
“She was terminated due to leadership deficiencies, operational failures and an inability to advance the strategic objectives of the US Coast Guard,” the statement said.
Fagan is also said to have “over-focused” on diversity, equality and inclusion policiesknown by the acronym DEI.
Trump has vowed to end DEI programs within the federal government, calling them “illegal and immoral.”
On Monday night, shortly after taking the oath of office, Trump issued an executive action to that effect, calling on federal agencies to “suspend” DEI initiatives.
“The public release of these plans showed massive public waste and shameful discrimination,” he said wrote.
Fagan was one of several officials who found themselves in Trump’s crosshairs on his first and second days in office.
Late Monday night, Trump also announced message on its platform Truth Social teases widespread layoffs.
“My Office of Presidential Personnel is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand presidential appointees from the previous administration who do not align with our vision to make America great again,” he wrote.
The post identified four people to whom Trump offered the following message: “YOU’RE FIRED.”
Among them was General Mark Milley, a former Trump appointee who told reporter Bob Woodward that the Republican leader was a “fascist to the core.”
Another person identified in the post was Spanish-American chef Jose Andres, founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization that provides meals in disaster zones.
Andres was a member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition under Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, and Biden awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this month for his humanitarian work.
On Tuesday, the chef clapped back at Trump’s “YOU’RE FIRED” announcement with his own message on social media.
“I resigned last week…my two-year term has already expired,” Andres wrotea sentence punctuated by laughing and shrugging emoticons.
“May God give you the wisdom, Mr. President, to put politics and name-calling aside…and instead lift up the ordinary people who are working to bring America together.”
