Navy Secretary John Phelan has departed the Trump administration, marking the second major leadership shakeup at the Pentagon since the Iran war began in late February.
Phelan is leaving “effective immediately,” Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X on Wednesday afternoon, offering no explanation for the sudden exit.
“We are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” Parnell said. Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will now serve as the acting secretary of the Navy, he added.
Multiple reports suggest that Phelan — a former financier and major Trump campaign donor — had been forced out.
Six sources familiar with the matter told CNN that he had been “ousted,” while Reuters and Fox News reported that he had been “fired.” Others pointed to a growing rift between Phelan and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Phelan didn’t understand he wasn’t the boss,” a source told Axios. “His job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given.” They added that “he didn’t get along” with the Pentagon chief.
Trump tapped Phelan, who did not serve in the military, to lead the Navy shortly after his re-election. The Harvard Business School graduate and founder of a Palm Beach-based investment firm reportedly helped raise millions for the president’s campaign. In August 2024, he reportedly hosted Trump for a fundraising dinner at his Colorado home, where attendees were required to fork over a minimum of $25,000.
“John’s intelligence and leadership are unmatched,” Trump said in a November 2024 statement announcing Phelan’s nomination. “John will deliver real results for our Navy and our Country.”
Phelan’s tight-knit relationship with the billionaire president is part of what led to his ouster, according to The Wall Street Journal. The pair, who own homes close to one another in Florida, regularly chatted at Mar-a-Lago, and Phelan would text the president late at night about shipbuilding, the outlet reports.
Senior Pentagon officials were particularly frustrated last year when Phelan took his proposal for a new battleship directly to the president, leaving Hegseth out of the loop, sources told the outlet.
The Independent has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment.
Phelan’s exit marks the second high-level personnel change at the Pentagon in recent weeks. On April 2, the Defense Department announced the retirement of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George.
“The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation,” Parnell wrote at the time. “We wish him well in his retirement.”
Hegseth had reportedly demanded George’s resignation. A source familiar with the matter told CBS News that the defense secretary wanted someone in role who would implement his and Trump’s “vision for the Army.”
Both departures have taken place against the backdrop of the Iran war, which began when the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes in late February.
The conflict has engulfed much of the Middle East in violence, killing thousands — including 13 U.S. service members — while surging fuel prices and stoking fears of global economic upheaval. Multiple recent polls indicate a majority of Americans oppose the war.
The U.S. Navy, now headed by Cao, is currently enforcing a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz amid a tenuous ceasefire. At least 15 U.S. warships are in the region.
A number of social media commenters pointed out that Phelan’s exit comes at a particularly perilous moment.
“Weird time for the Secretary of the Navy to leave,” Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama White House senior adviser, wrote on X.
“We’re in the middle of a pretty important naval blockade standoff with a country we’ve threatened to destroy, so it seems like a weird time for the Secretary of the Navy to abruptly depart,” Sarah Longwell, a political consultant and founder of The Bulwark, wrote on X.
Prior to the war, multiple top military leaders were also removed from their posts.
Last February, the president fired U.S. Air Force General Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and removed the Navy’s top officer, Adm. Lisa Franchetti. In October, Lt. Gen. Joe McGee, a three-star general working on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, was allegedly forced out after months of tensions with Hegseth. Reports indicate the two sparred over the administration’s operations targeting suspected drug boats in the Caribbean.
Hegseth has also claimed subordinates are behind embarrassing leaks, including allegations he used a commercial chat app to plan military strikes instead of high-security military channels.
