John Phelan is added to the list of high-ranking American military officials dismissed, usually without explanation, since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
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/2026/04/23/69e9e1981f4ef604688800.jpg "In the midst of war with Iran, US Secretary of the Navy resigns just a year after taking office.")
A major departure within the American armed forces in the midst of conflict in the Middle East. The Secretary of the Navy of the United States, John Phelan, is leaving his position “with immediate effect,” a spokesman for the War Department announced on Wednesday, April 22, without providing an explanation. His deputy, Hung Cao, will assume the responsibilities in the interim.
“We thank Secretary Phelan for his service. (…) We wish him good luck in his future endeavors,” wrote Sean Parnell on X.
A millionaire without military experience, described as close to Donald Trump, John Phelan took office in March 2025, on the recommendation of the White House tenant. “John will be a valuable asset to our sailors and an unwavering leader in implementing my vision of ‘America first’,” said the Republican president at the time.
According to several sources interviewed by Reuters, John Phelan was “fired because he was slow to implement reforms aimed at accelerating shipbuilding.” The top civilian leader of the U.S. Navy was also “in conflict with prominent figures in the Pentagon leadership.”
His name is added to the list of high-ranking American military officials dismissed, usually without explanation, since Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025. In early April, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy George, was also pushed out overnight. Two other generals, David Hodne, in charge of army transformation and training, and William Green Jr., leading the military chaplains corps, suffered the same fate.
Since February 2025, shortly after Donald Trump’s return to power, the inter-armed forces Chief of Staff appointed by the former Democrat president Joe Biden, General Charles “CQ” Brown, was removed without justification. 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.
