Start forced departure, even without being thanked. The highest civilian official in the American Navy, John Phelan, is leaving his position “with immediate effect”, the Pentagon indicated on Wednesday, April 23, without providing an explanation for his sudden departure, at a time when the United States is engaged in a conflict with Iran.
This top official “is leaving the administration with immediate effect”, said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement on X, specifying that his deputy Hung Cao will now temporarily take over his duties.
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If no official reason was given for this departure, the New York Times recalls that John Phelan had several conflicts with top Pentagon officials: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg. The issues: his management style, his social and cultural views, and his handling of the Navy’s major shipbuilding project.
“Tensions had been brewing for months between Mr. Phelan and his two superiors”, summarizes the New York daily. A senior official in the Trump administration also said that Pete Hegseth informed John Phelan, before the Pentagon’s official announcement, that he and President Trump had decided that the Navy needed new leadership.
This dismissal is not expected to have a short-term effect on the conflict in the Middle East. In fact, the Navy Secretary does not have a direct supervisory role over deployed forces. They are more involved in overseeing the construction of future naval forces and the Marines Corps.
Several high-ranking departures… without explanation
This new departure adds to the list of senior US military officers being dismissed, usually without explanation, since Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025. In February 2025, the joint chief of staff installed by former Democratic president Joe Biden, General Charles “CQ” Brown, was removed without justification and replaced by Dan Caine.
Two other generals, David Hodne, in charge of army transformation and training, and William Green Jr, leading the military chaplains corps, faced the same fate. Other top officials at the helm of the Navy and coast guard, the NSA intelligence agency, or the deputy chief of staff of the air force, among others, were also removed from their positions.
A few months later, in mid-August, the chief of staff of the air force, General David Allvin, announced his abrupt departure after two years in office instead of four. This was followed in December by the senior official in charge of US forces in South and Central America, Admiral Alvin Holsey, after only one year in office.
And at the beginning of April, in the midst of the war against Iran, the chief of staff of the US Army, General Randy George, was suddenly pushed out without the Pentagon providing a justification. He also had several disagreements with Hegseth.
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