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Navy Secretary John Phelan Departs Abruptly

Secretary Phelan and family during his Senate confirmation hearing last year (CSPAN)
Secretary Phelan and family during his Senate confirmation hearing last year (CSPAN)

Published Apr 22, 2026 6:43 PM by The Maritime Executive


The Pentagon has announced the departure of Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan, an investor and prominent art collector who had served in the role since March 2025. No explanation was provided; Reuters reports that he was fired, and the Wall Street Journal suggests that his dismissal was preceded by months of tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 

"Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately. . . . We are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy," said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell in a statement. "Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy."

Hung Cao is a former U.S. Navy salvage diver, and retired with the rank of captain in 2021. He is a longtime supporter of the president, and he ran as a Republican candidate in Virginia for the House (2022) and Senate (2024) with Trump's endorsement. His campaigns were not successful, but the president nominated him to the undersecretary post shortly after taking office.

Cao is the third person to hold the secretary's position since the beginning of the current Trump administration, after Phelan and former acting secretary Terrence Emmert. The first Trump administration had seven Navy secretaries (including acting), a record in the history of the post.

Last year, Politico reported on tensions between Phelan's staff and Cao, allegedly involving an attempt to sideline the new deputy and limit his duties. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Phelan's top aide shortly thereafter, an apparent source of friction. 

In March, Hegseth selected a Navy vice admiral to serve as a new "submarine czar" tasked with reporting directly to Stephen Feinberg, a former investor who serves as deputy secretary of defense. The decision pulled control over submarine procurement out of Phelan's office, and it added another source of tension between Hegseth and Phelan, according to the Wall Street Journal.