\u201cPresident Trump and Secretary Hegseth agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed,\u201d a senior administration official told The Independent on Wednesday evening. \u201cSecretary Hegseth informed John Phelan of this news prior to it being made public.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote<\/a> on X that Phelan was leaving \u201ceffective immediately,\u201d offering no explanation for the sudden exit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy<\/a>. We wish him well in his future endeavors,\u201d Parnell said. Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will now serve as the acting secretary of the Navy, he added.<\/p>\n Multiple reports indicate that Phelan \u2014 a former financier and prominent Trump campaign donor \u2014 was pushed out as tensions escalated between him and the Pentagon\u2019s top brass.<\/p>\n \u201cPhelan didn’t understand he wasn’t the boss,\u201d a source told Axios. \u201cHis job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given.\u201d They added that \u201che didn\u2019t get along\u201d with the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s campaign. In August 2024, he hosted Trump for a fundraising dinner at his Colorado home, where attendees were required to fork over a minimum of $25,000, according to The Guardian.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn\u2019s intelligence and leadership are unmatched,\u201d Trump said in a November 2024 statement announcing Phelan\u2019s nomination. \u201cJohn will deliver real results for our Navy and our Country.\u201d<\/p>\n Phelan\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.<\/p>\n Phelan\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department of War is grateful for General George\u2019s decades of service to our nation,\u201d Parnell wrote at the time. \u201cWe wish him well in his retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n Hegseth had reportedly demanded George\u2019s resignation. A source familiar with the matter told CBS News that the defense secretary wanted someone in role who would implement his and Trump\u2019s \u201cvision for the Army.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The conflict has engulfed much of the Middle East in violence, killing thousands \u2014 including 13 U.S. service members<\/a> \u2014 while surging fuel prices<\/a> and stoking fears of global economic upheaval. Multiple recent polls indicate a majority of Americans oppose the war.<\/p>\n The U.S. Navy, now headed by Cao, is currently enforcing a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> amid a tenuous ceasefire. At least 15 U.S. warships are in the region.<\/p>\n A number of social media commenters pointed out that Phelan\u2019s exit comes at a particularly perilous moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWeird time for the Secretary of the Navy to leave,\u201d Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama White House senior adviser, wrote on X. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in the middle of a pretty important naval blockade standoff with a country we\u2019ve threatened to destroy, so it seems like a weird time for the Secretary of the Navy to abruptly depart,\u201d Sarah Longwell, a political consultant and founder of The Bulwark, wrote on X.<\/p>\n Prior to the war, multiple top military leaders were also removed<\/a> from their posts.<\/p>\n Last February, the president fired U.S. Air Force<\/a> General Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff<\/a> and removed the Navy\u2019s top officer, Adm. Lisa Franchetti. In October, Lt. Gen. Joe McGee, a three-star general working on the Pentagon\u2019s Joint Staff, was allegedly forced out<\/a> after months of tensions with Hegseth. Reports indicate the two sparred over the administration\u2019s operations targeting suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. <\/p>\n![\"Navy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Pentagon_Navy_Secretary__2872.jpg\")
Navy Secretary John Phelan has been ousted from the Trump administration, a senior administration official said (The Associated Press)<\/p>\n![\"Phelan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2253190757.jpeg\")
Phelan \u2018didn’t get along\u2019 with Hegseth, a source familiar with the matter told Axios (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Phelan,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TRUMP-GABINETE_64292.jpg\")
Phelan, the founder of a Palm Beach-based investment firm, reportedly helped raise millions for Trump\u2019s campaign before his confirmation in 2025 (AP)<\/p>\n