1 month ago
The Pentagon announced connected Wednesday that nan navy’s apical civilian official, John Phelan, nan caput of nan navy, is leaving his job.
In a connection posted to societal media, Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said Phelan was “departing nan administration, effective immediately”
Hung Cao, nan navy undersecretary, will go acting caput of nan navy, Parnell said.
Reuters, citing an anonymous source, reported Phelan had been fired by nan Pentagon.
The abrupt departure comes conscionable a time aft Phelan addressed a ample crowd of sailors and manufacture professionals astatine nan navy’s yearly convention successful Washington DC, and said pinch reporters astir his agenda.
Phelan’s departure besides comes conscionable weeks aft Pete Hegseth, nan defense secretary, fired nan army’s apical officer, Gen Randy George. Hegseth besides has fired respective apical generals, admirals and different defense leaders since taking agency past year. As pinch galore of those different firings, Pentagon officials did not connection a logic for Phelan’s departure.
Phelan is leaving conscionable arsenic nan US navy has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and is targeting ships linked to Tehran astir nan world during a tenuous ceasefire successful nan Iran war.
Phelan had not served successful nan subject nor did he person a civilian activity domiciled successful nan work earlier Donald Trump nominated him for caput successful precocious 2024.
Phelan was a awesome philanthropist to Trump’s run and founded nan backstage finance patient Rugger Management LLC. According to his biography, Phelan’s superior vulnerability to nan subject came from an advisory position he held connected nan Spirit of America, a non-profit that supported nan defense of Ukraine and Taiwan.
The Associated Press could not instantly scope Phelan’s agency for comment.
Cao ran a grounded US Senate bid successful Virginia to effort to unseat Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator, Tim Kaine successful 2024. He had Trump’s endorsement successful nan crowded Republican primary.
Cao is simply a 25-year navy seasoned who served successful combat zones. His curriculum vitae includes fleeing Vietnam pinch his family arsenic a kid successful nan 1970s. In a run video for his Senate bid, he compared Vietnam’s communist authorities during nan acold warfare to nan management of erstwhile president Joe Biden.
