Trump praises ousted Navy Secretary Phelan amid tensions with Pentagon leadership
Navy Secretary John Phelan was removed from his post after months of tensions with senior Pentagon leadership, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.Multiple officials told Fox News Digital...
By Fox News · Fox News
Navy Secretary John Phelan was removed from his post after months of tensions with senior Pentagon leadership, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Multiple officials told Fox News Digital that both War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg had concerns with Phelan’s leadership, and tensions had simmered for months. One flashpoint came after Hegseth fired Phelan’s chief of staff, John Harrison, in October 2025, according to sources. Those frustrations were in part fueled by concerns over Phelan’s execution of major shipbuilding programs, one source confirmed. But President Donald Trump struck a different tone publicly, praising Phelan in a post on Truth Social Thursday afternoon. NAVY SECRETARY DEPARTS IMMEDIATELY AS UNDERSECRETARY TAKES OVER IN ACTING ROLE "John Phelan is a long time friend, and very successful businessman, who did an outstanding job serving as my Secretary Of The Navy for the last year," Trump wrote. "John helped my Administration rebuild Sleepy Joe Biden ’s rapidly depleted, and almost abandoned, Navy. Now, because of John, and all of the Great Men and Women lovingly and tirelessly involved, we have the strongest Navy in the World — BY FAR!" Trump added that he would "certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future" and said Phelan "decided to move on," a characterization at odds with what other administration officials have told Fox News Digital. A senior administration official said Trump and Hegseth "agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed." The official added that Hegseth informed Phelan of the decision before Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the move in a post on X Wednesday. The leadership shakeup comes at a critical moment for the Navy, as U.S. forces confront escalating tensions amid a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks and mine threats have disrupted a vital global oil choke point. It also comes as Trump ha…