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Navy Secretary Leaving Unexpectedly 04/23 06:15
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his job, the
Pentagon abruptly announced Wednesday, the first head of a military service to
depart during President Donald Trump's second term but just the latest top
defense leader to step down or be ousted.
No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the Navy's top civilian
official, coming as the sea service has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and
is targeting ships linked to Tehran around the world during a tenuous ceasefire
in the war. Another Trump loyalist is taking over as acting head of the Navy:
Undersecretary Hung Cao, a 25-year Navy combat veteran who ran unsuccessful
campaigns for the U.S. Senate and House in Virginia.
Phelan's departure is the latest in a series of shakeups of top leadership
at the Pentagon, coming just weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired
the Army's top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George. Hegseth also has fired
several other top generals, admirals and defense leaders since taking office
last year.
The firings began in February 2025, when Hegseth removed military leaders,
including Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy's top uniformed officer, and Gen. Jim
Slife, the No. 2 leader at the Air Force. Trump also fired Gen. Charles "CQ"
Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Showing how sudden the latest move was, Phelan had addressed a large crowd
of sailors and industry professionals on Tuesday at the Navy's annual
conference in Washington and spoke with reporters about his agenda. He also
hosted the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee to discuss the Navy's
budget request and efforts to build more ships, according to a social media
post from his office.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a post on X that Phelan was
"departing the administration, effective immediately."
Phelan had been a major Trump donor
Phelan had not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in
the service before Trump nominated him for secretary in late 2024. He was seen
as an outsider being brought in to shake up the Navy.
Phelan was a major donor to Trump's campaign and had founded the private
investment firm Rugger Management LLC. According to his biography, Phelan's
primary exposure to the military came from an advisory position he held on the
Spirit of America, a nonprofit that supported the defense of Ukraine and the
defense of Taiwan.
The Associated Press could not immediately reach Phelan's office for
comment. The White House did not answer questions and instead responded by
sending a link to Parnell's statement.
Phelan is leaving during a busy time for the Navy. It has three aircraft
carriers deployed in or heading to the Middle East, while the Trump
administration says all the armed forces are poised to resume combat operations
against Iran should the ceasefire expire.
The Navy also has maintained a heavy presence in the Caribbean, where it has
been part of a campaign of strikes against alleged drug boats. It also played a
major role in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro in January.
New acting Navy secretary ran unsuccessful bids for Congress
Taking over as acting secretary is Cao, who ran a failed U.S. Senate bid in
Virginia to try to unseat Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in 2024. He had Trump's
endorsement in the crowded Republican primary and gave a speech at the 2024
Republican National Convention.
Cao's biography includes fleeing Vietnam with his family as a child in the
1970s. In a campaign video for his Senate bid, he compared Vietnam's communist
regime during the Cold War to the administration of Democratic President Joe
Biden.
During his one debate with Kaine, Cao criticized COVID-19 vaccine mandates
for service members as well as the military's diversity, equity and inclusion
efforts.
"When you're using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that's not the
people we want," Cao said from the debate stage. "What we need is alpha males
and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for
seconds. Those are the young men and women that are going to win wars."
Trump and Hegseth have railed against DEI in the military, banning the
efforts and firing people accused of supporting such programs.
When he ran for Congress in Virginia in 2022, Cao expressed opposition to
aid for Ukraine during a debate against his Democratic opponent.
"My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. ... But right now we're
borrowing $55 billion from China to pay for the war in Ukraine. Not only that,
we're depleting our national strategic reserves," Cao said.
Cao graduated from the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science
and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, before attending the U.S. Naval Academy.
He was commissioned as a special operations officer and went on to serve
with SEAL teams and special forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia before
retiring at the rank of captain, according to his Senate campaign biography.
Cao also earned a master's degree in physics and had fellowships at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
Since becoming Navy undersecretary, Cao has championed returning to duty
service members that refused a Biden-era mandate to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
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