Pentagon Announces Immediate Departure of Navy Secretary John Phelan

By Sareen Habeshian, BBC News

The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that US Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his position effective immediately. Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve in an acting capacity, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.

Parnell's social media post stated: "On behalf of the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 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." The post used the term "Secretary of War," which is not standard terminology for the Department of Defense leadership.

Phelan's role, which is civilian and largely administrative, involves formulating Navy policies, recruiting, training and equipping personnel, as well as overseeing budgeting, logistics, ship construction, repairs and facilities. During his 13-month tenure, which began with his swearing-in on March 2025 following a 2024 nomination by President Donald Trump, Phelan managed a $263.5 billion Navy budget and $922 billion in assets. His stated priorities included shipbuilding, fostering a warfighting culture and improving personnel welfare.

The Navy has not provided an official reason for Phelan's departure. Some US media reports, which remain unconfirmed, have cited tensions within Pentagon leadership over shipbuilding issues as a possible factor.

Phelan's exit occurs amid reports of other recent changes in military leadership. Weeks earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down. Separate reports indicated the removal of Army officials Gen. David Hodne and Maj. Gen. William Green. Earlier in 2025, Hegseth dismissed several senior officers, including the chief of naval operations and the Air Force vice chief of staff, though claims of more than a dozen such actions in recent months have not been independently verified.

Phelan, a businessman with no prior military service and a major donor to Trump's campaign, had appeared with the president at Mar-a-Lago in December alongside discussions of Navy expansion plans. Trump has emphasized growing the US merchant and civilian fleets as part of broader shipbuilding initiatives.

Andrew Peek, a former State Department deputy assistant secretary, told the BBC that progress on these goals had been limited. "Eventually, somebody was going to take the fall for the lack of movement on that. I would bet that's about 30% of this," Peek said. He added: "The other 70% - Phelan's replacement is very well known to the MAGA base, I would bet it's a simple replacement with someone he likes and trusts better."

Cao, Phelan's acting replacement, became undersecretary in October 2025. A 25-year Navy veteran, he ran an unsuccessful 2024 Senate campaign in Virginia, endorsed by Trump, against Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine. During a campaign debate, Cao criticized the military's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the context of Navy recruiting challenges. Speaking about the qualities needed for recruits, he said: "What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. Those are the young men and women that are going to win wars," according to the Associated Press.

The leadership change comes during ongoing US naval operations related to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, including a continued US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route for oil supplies. Clashes have persisted in the strait, with Iran stating it seized two ships there.

President Trump has indicated the blockade of Iranian ports will continue despite a ceasefire in the war. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is "satisfied" with the naval operations and "understands Iran is in a very weak position."

Iran's chief negotiator in US talks, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated on Wednesday that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is "not possible" due to what he described as "blatant violations of the ceasefire" by the US and Israel.

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