The Pentagon has dismissed John Phelan as Secretary of the Navy, effective immediately, in the latest in a series of abrupt leadership changes under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the departure in a brief social media statement offering no official explanation, saying only that Phelan was "departing the administration, effective immediately." Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary. People familiar with the situation told multiple outlets that Phelan was fired rather than having resigned voluntarily.
The dismissal followed months of mounting tensions between Phelan and senior Pentagon leadership. Hegseth is said to have held Phelan responsible for failing to respond aggressively enough after Democratic Senator Mark Kelly — a former astronaut and Navy combat pilot from Arizona — appeared in a video advising troops to disregard illegal orders. Separately, Hegseth's deputy Stephen Feinberg had grown increasingly dissatisfied with Phelan's management of the Navy's shipbuilding programme, reportedly stripping him of responsibilities over the initiative. Phelan also clashed with Cao, his own deputy, who was seen as more closely aligned with Hegseth's priorities. The timing was striking: just one day before his dismissal, Phelan had addressed a large audience at the Navy's annual Sea-Air-Space conference in Washington and spoken confidently to reporters about his agenda, including a proposed $378 billion Navy budget and a "Golden Fleet" modernisation plan featuring new "Trump-class" battleships.
Phelan's removal follows a broader wave of departures at the Pentagon. Hegseth dismissed Army Chief of Staff General Randy George earlier this month, and has previously removed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, and other senior commanders since taking office. Phelan himself had no prior military service or civilian defence experience; he was a major donor to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and the founder of private investment firm Rugger Management LLC.
His replacement, Hung Cao, brings a sharply contrasting background. A 25-year Navy veteran who served in combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, Cao fled Vietnam with his family as a child in the 1970s following the fall of Saigon. He ran unsuccessfully for a Virginia Senate seat in 2024 with Trump's endorsement.
The shake-up comes at a particularly sensitive moment. The US Navy is currently enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports and intercepting vessels linked to Tehran amid an ongoing military conflict with Iran, with naval assets operating in the Arabian Sea and broader Middle East region. Analysts note that replacing the Navy's top civilian official during active combat operations raises questions about continuity of command — and may signal a shift toward a more aggressive posture in enforcing the blockade. The conflict has contributed to rising fuel prices and economic pressures domestically, adding political weight to decisions about how the war is managed and by whom.