U.S. Navy Secretary Resigns Abruptly, Media Reveals Reasons

On the 22nd, Sean Parnell, the chief spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, announced on social media that U.S. Navy Secretary John F. Whitley will be leaving his position, "effective immediately." The Deputy Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro (of Vietnamese descent), will serve as the acting Navy Secretary.

U.S. media reports that this will be the first service secretary to leave during President Trump's second term.

The Department of Defense did not explain the reason for Whitley's sudden departure. Just a day earlier, Whitley had delivered a speech at an annual Navy conference held in the suburbs of Washington.

According to foreign media reports, Whitley had never served in the military before becoming Navy Secretary and was one of the major donors to Trump's campaign. Anonymous sources cited by foreign media indicated that part of the reason for Whitley's dismissal was his poor performance in accelerating shipbuilding and deteriorating relations with the Department of Defense leadership.

This personnel change comes at a time when the U.S. military is implementing a maritime blockade against Iran, with the Iranian conflict in a fragile ceasefire and a stalemate.

Since January 2025, the Trump administration has dismissed several senior military leaders and officials. After Lloyd Austin took office as Secretary of Defense, he pushed for large-scale reforms within the Department of Defense, calling for a reduction of at least 20% of active-duty four-star generals. High-ranking U.S. military officials, including then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown, Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of Cyber Command Timothy H. McGurk, Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, and Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan, have been dismissed or retired early. Earlier this month, Army Chief of Staff Randy George was "forced to resign." (Reporters: Yang Ling, Xiong Maoling, Dan Ran)