US Navy secretary John Phelan was fired on Wednesday as leadership turmoil gripped the Pentagon in the middle of its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the broader war against Iran.
Phelan’s abrupt departure from his post was announced by Sean Parnell, the defence department spokesperson, in a short statement on X that offered no explanation for the move.
“Secretary of the Navy John C Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately,” Parnell wrote.
Phelan’s ousting comes as Pete Hegseth, US president Donald Trump’s defence secretary, has sought to remove a series of Pentagon leaders who are seen to be at odds with the administration.
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A senior administration official on Wednesday said: “President Trump and secretary Hegseth agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed. Secretary Hegseth informed John Phelan of this news prior to it being made public.”
As the top civilian official for the US Navy, reporting to Hegseth, Phelan had led an effort to rebuild America’s military shipbuilding capacity and establish a “Golden Fleet” for the US.
A person familiar with the matter said there had been tensions with the top civilian leaders at the Pentagon, including Hegseth, over the shipbuilding programme as well as nominations and promotions of military officers.
His exit comes in the middle of one of the most consequential missions for US naval forces in decades: the blockade of vessels transiting in and out of Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz.
There are 21 US warships in the region, with seven more on the way. More than a dozen of them are involved in the American naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Phelan’s departure is the latest episode in Hegseth’s efforts to shake up the Pentagon, which began at the start of Trump’s second term and has become a defining feature of his tenure.
Leadership changes and internal tensions have continued even as the US military embarked on increasingly aggressive military campaigns from the Iran war launched in late February to the raid on Venezuela in January and continued strikes against alleged drug boats.
Early this month, Hegseth forced the departure of Randy George, the chief of staff of the army, as Trump was deploying thousands of soldiers to the Middle East for the Iran war and to prepare for the possible use of ground forces in the country.
Tensions between Hegseth and Dan Driscoll, the army secretary, have increasingly spilled into the public arena.
Phelan, a financier and political donor based in Palm Beach, Florida, will be replaced on an acting basis by Hung Cao, the under-secretary of the navy.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
