FILE - Secretary of the Navy John Phelan speaks, as President Donald Trump listens, at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 22, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)
FILE - John Phelan appears before a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., file)
FILE - Secretary of the Navy John Phelan speaks, as President Donald Trump listens, at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 22, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)
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FILE - Hung Cao speaks during the Republican ºÃÉ«tv Convention, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
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FILE - John Phelan appears before a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., file)
The Pentagon has abruptly announced that Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his job. Phelan is the first head of a military service to depart during President Donald Trump’s second term but is 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. It comes 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.
