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U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan leaving Trump administration: Pentagon
Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary as the Pentagon gives no reason for Phelan’s sudden exit.
- On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is departing the administration effective immediately. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said the department is 'grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy'.
- Reports suggest Phelan's exit followed months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over shipbuilding reform speeds. The Pentagon provided no official reason, though sources indicate Phelan was fired.
- Undersecretary Hung Cao, a 25-year Navy veteran with combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, assumes the acting secretary role. Cao's military background contrasts sharply with Phelan, a businessman who lacked prior service.
- The Navy maintains a blockade of Iranian ports and three aircraft carriers deployed in or heading to the Middle East amid a delicate ceasefire. This leadership transition raises questions about command stability during sensitive operations.
- Phelan's departure marks the latest in a series of Pentagon leadership changes under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April. Hegseth has fired over a dozen senior military officers since taking office.
414 Articles
414 Articles
Navy Secretary John Phelan was on Capitol Hill talking shipbuilding all day. Hours later, he learned he was fired by reading it on X
Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, just hours after spending most of the day on Capitol Hill discussing shipbuilding with lawmakers. The Pentagon announced his departure in a statement posted on X by top spokesman Sean Parnell, saying it was “effective immediately,” with no further explanation given. The sudden announcement left many inside and outside the Pentagon stunned. Phelan had no idea he was about to …
Hegseth's revolving door at the Pentagon continues
War Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s effort to reshape the Pentagon continued this week, though this time it was with the firing of a Trump-appointed service secretary. Sean Parnell, the top Pentagon spokesman, announced that Navy Secretary John Phelan would be leaving his position “effective immediately” on Wednesday but did not specify why. Phelan has not commented publicly on his departure, while Undersecretary Hung Cao, a former naval captain, will …
US Navy Secretary Phelan fired by Pentagon, say sources
Navy Secretary John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately.” But it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The so…
U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan was dismissed on Wednesday after months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior officials on issues of how to reactivate the Navy's naval construction program, which is in difficulty.Hung Cao, Undersecretary of the Navy, will assume the post of Acting Secretary of the institution, according to Sean Parnell, Chief Speaker of the Pentagon, in a brief statement.During his leadership of the Nav…
In office for thirteen months, the Secretary of the Navy has officially resigned, with immediate effect.
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