Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan has departed the Trump administration effective immediately, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, with Undersecretary Hung Cao stepping in as acting secretary.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the change in a post on X, saying the Department was “grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service” and wishing him well. No reason was given for the sudden departure.
Mr. Phelan, a Florida-based private equity executive who hosted fundraising events for President Trump, was confirmed by the Senate 62-30 in March 2025 and served roughly 13 months as the 79th Secretary of the Navy. He came to the role with no prior military experience, drawing scrutiny during his confirmation process.
The Navy’s official biography says he founded and chaired Rugger Management in Palm Beach after earlier helping lead MSD Capital and MSD Partners. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and studied at both Southern Methodist University and the London School of Economics.
His tenure was marked by internal friction with Mr. Cao. Reports emerged last year that Mr. Phelan and his chief of staff, Jon Harrison, had reassigned aides set to help Mr. Cao navigate his role as undersecretary and moved to centralize authority within the secretary’s office. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently fired Mr. Harrison.
Mr. Cao, a retired Navy captain who came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975, brings a sharp contrast in background to his predecessor. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996, served 25 years in special operations — including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia — and retired at the rank of captain in 2021. He was confirmed as undersecretary in a 52-45 Senate vote last October.
Mr. Phelan’s departure comes as the U.S. military is engaged in an active campaign against Iran, including a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
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