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Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his role effective immediately, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Wednesday.
A White House official told CBS News that President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth agreed on the need for new Navy leadership, and Hegseth informed Phelan of the decision before it was made public.
The Navy’s new acting civilian leader will be Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao, according to Parnell. Cao is a Navy veteran who ran for Senate in 2024 as the GOP’s nominee in Virginia, losing to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.
Phelan is the latest high-profile official to depart the federal government in recent months. Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down earlier this month, and the Army officers who led the Transportation and Training Command and the Chaplain Corps were removed from their roles. The head of the U.S. military’s Southern Command, Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, also retired at the end of last year.
Elsewhere in the administration, three Cabinet secretaries have left their posts since last month: Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer have left.
The Department of the Navy — which oversees naval forces and the Marine Corps — is losing its top civilian official while the Navy plays a key role in the war with Iran.
A temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has been in place for about two weeks, but the U.S. has continued enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports at Mr. Trump’s direction. The president and other administration officials have also suggested that the Navy could offer escorts to oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz at some point.
A financier who previously helped run billionaire Michael Dell’s family investment office, Phelan was confirmed by the Senate 62-30 in March 2025. Eleven Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the Trump nominee.
During Phelan’s time as secretary, the Navy took part in the U.S. military’s strikes on alleged drug boats near Latin America and seizures of oil tankers linked to Venezuela. And former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was flown to a U.S. aircraft carrier after American forces captured him earlier this year.
Phelan also played a role in Mr. Trump’s push to expand the Navy’s fleet by building as many as 25 new battleships. Appearing alongside Hegseth and Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago last year, Phelan introduced what the military is referring to as “Trump-class” battleships.
Phelan made his most recent public appearance on Tuesday at the Sea Air Space Conference in the D.C. area.
