The Secretary of the US Navy, John Phelan, has been dismissed, in a new reorganization in the Pentagon that occurs just a few weeks after the Secretary of Defense, , removed the Army’s highest-ranking general from his position.
The Pentagon stated in a statement that Phelan “is leaving the Administration effective immediately,” without offering details about his departure. The Reuters agency was the first media to report that this was a dismissal, not a voluntary resignation. According to the newspaper The New York TimesPhelan, who is a civilian, is leaving the Pentagon and President Donald Trump’s Administration after months of infighting with top Pentagon leaders and disagreements over how to revive the Navy’s beleaguered shipbuilding program.
During his tenure, Phelan had promoted the so-called Golden Fleet, a major investment in new ships that included a new “Trump-class” battleship. However, his tenure was marred by disputes with senior officials across the Pentagon—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the number twoStephen Feinberg—as reported by Pentagon and Congressional officials. Tensions had been rising for months between the unemployed person and his two bosses due to management style, personnel issues and other issues.
Feinberg, in particular, had become increasingly dissatisfied with Phelan’s management of the Navy’s major new shipbuilding initiative, and had been gradually removing responsibilities and powers from the project, according to the congressional official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Phelan, who was appointed by the White House, also had a conflictive relationship with his deputy, Undersecretary Hung Cao, who was more aligned with Hegseth, according to these sources.
In the name of the Secretary of War [nueva denominación de Defensa en la terminología de la Casa Blanca] and the Undersecretary of War [ídem]”We express our gratitude to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy,” said Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.” The Navy’s second-highest civilian official, Undersecretary Cao, will take over on an interim basis, the spokesperson said.
On April 2, Hegseth, without giving any reason. Two senior officials pointed to existing tensions between Hegseth and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll as the reason for the purge.
These dismissals are in addition to those from the Pentagon, such as the dismissal last year of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Air Force General CQ Brown – as well as that of the chief of Naval Operations and the vice chief of the Air Force General Staff.
This latest departure occurs in a context of tense truce with Iran, while the United States deploys a greater number of naval assets in the Middle East and the consequences of the war – declared unilaterally by the United States and Israel – are being felt in the economy, with a rise in the price of gasoline that already exceeds four dollars per gallon. President Donald Trump’s popularity is sinking day after day due to the erratic course of the war and economic setbacks (in March, inflation was the highest in two years).
The US military is using naval assets to carry out a blockade of Iran, with which the Republican president hopes to pressure Tehran to negotiate an end to the conflict – and above all the opening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial navigation – on its own terms.
