Washington, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transport Salud Carbajal (D-CA) released the following statements after the misguided firing of U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan.
“Commandant Linda Fagan served the Coast Guard with distinction, and the decision to abruptly remove her from command is misguided and will hurt readiness,” Ranking Member Larsen said. “She led efforts to boost lagging recruitment numbers, reaching out to communities who have not previously been represented in the Coast Guard. For the first time since 2017, under Admiral Fagan’s leadership, the Coast Guard has exceeded their recruiting target of 4,400 active-duty members bringing the total to nearly 40,000 active-duty Coasties. These efforts strengthen America, and anyone who tries to blame diversification efforts for other issues the Coast Guard faces does so without a shred of actual evidence.
Commandant Fagan inherited the fallout from ‘Operation Fouled Anchor’ and worked diligently to protect Coasties from sexual assault and harassment on the job.
Although much of the fentanyl comes into America through land ports of entry, Commandant Fagan worked hard to intercept shipments coming by sea. Instead of firing effective leaders, we should pass a Coast Guard bill that provides Coasties with the resources they need to achieve mission success—including funding for Polar Security Cutters, an effective global security tool.
I wish Commandant Fagan the best in her next endeavor and thank her for her service to our country and her strong leadership of the Coast Guard.
The women and men of the U.S. Coast Guard deserve better than reckless personnel decisions. As bad of a decision as this is, I do expect poor decisions like this one from this administration in the future and we must be ready for them.”
“The Administration’s decision to fire the Coast Guard’s Commandant, Admiral Linda Fagan, is an undeserved and cowardly act that will have lasting negative impacts on the workforce,” Ranking Member Carbajal said. “Admiral Fagan worked tirelessly to reinforce the core values of the service of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty. At a time where Coasties need a steady hand in leadership to continue advocating for their needs, this decision not only fails the service, but fails the American people the service protects.”
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