Washington D.C. _ (WGHN) – U.S. Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (MI-03), a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard Subcommittee, released the following statement:
“I was disappointed to learn that after midnight, President Donald Trump abruptly fired Admiral Linda L. Fagan from her role as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. I am proud to have worked with Admiral Fagan to encourage the acquisition of a new Great Lakes Icebreaker, critical to our mission here in the Great Lakes region. She made multiple visits to Grand Haven–Coast Guard City, USA–during her tenure to see Michigan’s Coasties in action. Our community is also grateful for her help in renaming the Grand Haven Station after Commander Michael Smith last year. Under Admiral Fagan’s leadership, we also saw Coast Guard recruitment and retention rise, which remains one of my top priorities. I thank her for her service to West Michigan and our country.
“Our Coast Guard deserves the strong leadership necessary to protect our maritime border, reinforce the reliability of our supply chains, and safeguard the well-being of our Coasties from Muskegon to Grand Haven, and all across the country. A sudden, middle-of-the-night firing of a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not set our Coast Guard up for success, threatening our mission readiness and national security. We need a strong advocate in Coast Guard leadership to push for continued funding to maintain the Guard’s boosted retention rate and acquire the equipment that keeps our Coast Guard ‘always ready.’ Stability and a reliable succession of command are crucial for our service members. Ousting Admiral Fagan without announcing a plan for her successor has undermined that stability. I am calling on President Trump to move quickly in appointing a new Commandant and not resort to hasty firings in other branches of our military. Our service members deserve more. I welcome the opportunity to work with the Administration to continue to enhance the strong work of our Coast Guard and other branches of military.”
Congresswoman serves as the Vice-Ranking Member on the Coast Guard Subcommittee and the Ranking Member on the Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee.
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