Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is leaving his place “effective immediately,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell introduced on Wednesday.
“On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy,” Parnell mentioned in a post on X. “We wish him well in his future endeavors. Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.”
The announcement comes whereas the US Navy is finishing up a blockade of Iranian ports throughout a ceasefire within the Iran conflict. Thus far, US forces have redirected 29 vessels to return to port and have additionally boarded two ships.
Phelan is a businessman with no prior army service; he and his spouse beforehand fundraised tens of millions of {dollars} for President Donald Trump’s marketing campaign earlier than he was confirmed as Navy secretary in 2025.
“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump mentioned on the time. “He will put the business of the US Navy above all else.”
It’s unclear what led to Phelan’s departure, which is the primary among the many army service secretaries nominated beneath Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has, nevertheless, eliminated quite a few senior army officers throughout the providers since taking the helm on the Pentagon.
The announcement of his departure comes the identical week as a serious, annual maritime convention — the Navy League’s annual Sea Air Space convention — was being held simply exterior of Washington, DC. Phelan and different senior Navy management attended and spoke on the convention.
This is a creating story and will probably be up to date.