Commander of the US Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan, the first female uniformed chief of an armed forces department in US history, was ousted by the Trump administration without explanation late Monday.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman relieved Fagan of her duties as Coast Guard commandant, noting that she “served a long and distinguished career and I thank her for her service to our nation,” according to a message sent to all Coast Guard members Tuesday. .

Adm. Kevin Lunday, the former deputy commandant of the Coast Guard, will take over as acting commandant, the statement said, giving no other details about the change.

The Coast Guard referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which did not respond by press time.

Anonline biographyon Fagan was unavailable Tuesday morning, and the Coast Guard’s official website listing the service’s top management showed a blank fieldunder “Commander”.

Fagan, also the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral, had served as the military branch’s 27th commander since June 1, 2022, after former President Biden selected her to lead the service of 42,000 active duty, 7,000 reserve and 8,700 civilian personnel.

But a senior DHS official told Fox News that Fagan was relieved because of border security concerns, recruiting and acquisition problems and an “erosion of trust” following an internal investigation into sexual abuse cases at the Coast Guard Academy.

At the time she took over, Fagan adopted a force that had struggled for years to meet its recruiting goals — including under President Trump in his first term. But the Coast Guard was able to reach its goal just last year after it brought in more recruiters.

Also under Fagan, the Coast Guard was hit with a major controversy with Operation Fouled Anchor, an internal investigation led by the branch investigating sexual misconduct at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut between 1988 and 2006. The investigation, which was completed in January 2020 during Trump’s first administration, was not voluntarily disclosed to Congress or the public by the Coast Guard before 2023 after being withheld by the service’s then-commander, Adm. Carl Schultz.

Fagan, who wasgrilled over the reportby senators in June, acknowledged the service’s “failure to share the report with Congress was a mistake.”

Her firing is the first of several personnel changes expected to affect more members of the US military as Trump has vowed to remove generals and admirals he has deemed “woke”.

And Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, has said eliminating diversity and equity efforts in the military will be a top priority if he is confirmed.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., whom Trump had threatened to fire once he was in power, saidOn Monday, he plans to stayin his role as the country’s highest-ranking military official.

Updated at 12:20 PM EST

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