Pentagon says John Phelan out as Navy secretary
U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his role in the administration, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
Phelan, who this week attended the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space symposium in Washington, is departing “effective immediately,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced.
Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao, a former Virginia Senate candidate and special operations veteran, will assume the role of acting secretary of the Navy, Parnell added.
“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 wrote. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
The Pentagon provided no reason for the move, and requests for comment from Military Times were not returned as of publication.
Just yesterday, Phelan spoke with reporters at a media roundtable about the Navy’s prioritizing of ship building capacity as the service looks to double its vessel requests, according to the 2027 fiscal defense budget.
He also delivered a lengthy keynote address at the conference.
Phelan, who was confirmed as the Navy secretary in March 2025 by a 62-30 vote, was just the seventh non-veteran to serve in the role in the past 70 years.
A founder of the investment firm Rugger Management LLC, Phelan was the first service secretary pick to be announced by President Donald Trump following his return to the Oval Office. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, however, was the first service secretary confirmed.
The abrupt Phelan move comes as the sea service continues to grapple with an ongoing war with Iran. It also comes less than three weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and retire.
That April 2 move involving George, one of three significant changes made by Hegseth on the same day, cut short George’s tenure, which began in September 2023, well before the end of the typical four-year term.
Gen. David Horne, a former Army Ranger who had been overseeing the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, the Army chief of chaplains, were also removed from their roles on April 2.
Since taking office, Hegseth has fired over a dozen generals and admirals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
Phelan was the Navy’s 79th service secretary.
Cao, meanwhile, is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He deployed with special operations forces to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia during a military career that spanned 25 years.
Military Times reporter Tanya Noury contributed to this report.
U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan left his position effective immediately, as announced by the Pentagon. Hung Cao, the Navy Undersecretary, will take over as acting secretary. Phelan's departure follows his recent participation in the Navy League’s symposium, and the Pentagon has not disclosed the reasons for this leadership change.
- John Phelan is leaving his role as Navy Secretary effective immediately.
- Hung Cao will become the acting secretary of the Navy.
- Phelan attended the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space symposium before his departure.
- The Pentagon did not provide a reason for Phelan's departure.
- Phelan was the Navy’s 79th service secretary.