Navy Secretary John Phelan abruptly leaving after just 13 months in the post

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is abruptly leaving his post, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued a brief statement via X:

“Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.

“On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy.

“We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the Navy’s top civilian official after just 13 months on the job. Undersecretary Hung Cao, a 25-year Navy veteran, will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.

Phelan’s departure is the latest in a series of shakeups of top leadership at the Pentagon, just weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George. Hegseth also has fired several other top generals, admirals and other defense leaders since taking office last year.

Showing how sudden the latest move was, Phelan the day before had addressed a large crowd of sailors and industry professionals at the Navy’s annual conference in Washington and spoke with reporters about his agenda.

Phelan was a major donor to Trump’s campaign and founded the private investment firm Rugger Management, but had no military experience.

Cao fled Vietnam with his family as a child in the 1970s. He served in combat in the Navy, and later unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.