Updated April 23, 2026 — 11:14 PM EDT
Navy Secretary John Phelan has left his post effective immediately, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced Wednesday. A White House official told CBS News that President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth agreed the Navy needed new civilian leadership, and Hegseth informed Phelan of the decision before it was made public.
Mr. Trump called Phelan a ‘wonderful guy’ but said he ‘had trouble getting along with others,’ noting Phelan was a ‘hard charger’ who had conflicts with some colleagues, including over shipbuilding priorities. ‘Got to get along, especially in the military,’ the president added.
Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao will serve as acting civilian head of the department, Parnell said. Cao, a Navy veteran and the 2024 GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Virginia who lost to Sen. Tim Kaine, issued a statement thanking the president and Hegseth. He said his immediate priorities are caring for Sailors and Marines, advancing shipbuilding initiatives and ensuring homeland defense.
Phelan’s exit is the latest in a string of high-profile departures across the administration. Earlier this month Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down; senior officers who led the Transportation and Training Command and the Chaplain Corps were also removed. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command, retired at the end of last year. In the past month three Cabinet members left their posts: Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer departed.
The Department of the Navy, which oversees naval forces and the Marine Corps, loses its top civilian official at a time when the service is central to U.S. operations related to Iran. A temporary ceasefire has been in place for roughly two weeks, but the U.S. continues to enforce a naval blockade of Iranian ports at the president’s direction. Administration officials have also said the Navy could be asked to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Phelan, a former financier who helped run Michael Dell’s family investment office, was confirmed by the Senate 62-30 in March 2025, with 11 Democrats joining Republicans in support. During his tenure the Navy conducted strikes against boats accused of drug trafficking near Latin America, seized oil tankers tied to Venezuela, and carried out operations that led to the transport of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to a U.S. aircraft carrier after his capture earlier this year.
He was a visible proponent of the administration’s plan to expand the fleet by building as many as 25 new battleships, appearing with Hegseth and the president at Mar-a-Lago to unveil the proposed ‘Trump-class’ ships. Phelan’s most recent public appearance was Tuesday at the Sea-Air-Space Conference in the Washington, D.C., area.
Kristin Brown contributed to this report.