Navy secretary fired
- Reports said the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, was fired in a recent domestic shakeup. - The personnel change was reported alongside other major domestic developments in the same briefing. - The removal of a service secretary can shift Navy priorities and prompts questions about underlying policy and leadership reasons (x.com).
John Phelan was removed as Navy secretary on April 22, and the Pentagon said he was leaving “effective immediately.” (apnews.com) Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the move in a social-media statement and named Navy Under Secretary Hung Cao as acting secretary. Reuters, citing a U.S. official and a person familiar with the matter, reported that Phelan was fired. (breakingdefense.com) (usnews.com) Phelan had been on the job since March 25, 2025, after the Senate confirmed him 62-30 as the 79th secretary of the Navy. He came to the post from finance and investing, not military service, and said during confirmation he would lean on management experience. (navy.mil) (stripes.com) The Navy secretary is the top civilian running the Department of the Navy, which includes both the Navy and the Marine Corps. The office oversees nearly 1 million sailors, Marines, reservists and civilian employees and manages a budget of about $263.5 billion, according to the service’s biography for Phelan. (defensescoop.com) (marines.mil) A change in that office can redirect shipbuilding, maintenance, personnel policy and the Navy’s relationship with the Pentagon’s civilian leadership. Phelan’s official bio said his priorities included shipbuilding, the maritime industrial base, accountability and sailor training. (history.navy.mil) (marines.mil) The Pentagon did not publicly give a reason for Phelan’s exit. ABC News reported that an administration official said Phelan “was asked to step down,” and that he had clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, while Reuters said only that he was fired and that no explanation was provided. (abcnews.com) (usnews.com) The timing was abrupt. News reports said Phelan had appeared a day earlier at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference in Washington, where he spoke publicly about his agenda for the service. (federalnewsnetwork.com) (navytimes.com) Cao, who now steps in on an acting basis, was sworn in as under secretary on October 3, 2025. The Navy says he is a retired captain and former special operations officer who oversees the department’s day-to-day management as its chief operating officer. (navy.mil) (news.usni.org) Phelan’s departure is the first exit of a military service secretary in Trump’s second term, according to the Associated Press. The immediate question now is whether the White House keeps Cao in the acting role for an extended stretch or sends the Senate a permanent nominee soon. (apnews.com)
