John Phelan, the Navy secretary and Trump donor, was fired Wednesday in a purge that has nothing to do with the Iranian seizure of container ships in the strait of Hormuz this week. Instead, the Pentagon removed him over internal warfare about naval construction strategy and fraying relationships with senior officials.
Phelan, who previously ran a private investment fund in Florida, becomes the first service secretary to depart under Trump's current administration. His ouster marks the opening move in what appears to be a broader shake-up of the Pentagon's top ranks.
Sources say the collision between Phelan and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intensified over months of tension. Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, a powerful figure within the building, pushed aggressively to consolidate shipbuilding authority under his control. Phelan's own subordinate, Hung Cao, also clashed with him over military policy direction. Cao, a former Navy officer who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in Virginia in 2024, has been named acting Navy secretary.
The shipbuilding dispute centered on what Feinberg and Hegseth saw as Phelan's sluggish pace on reforms Trump wanted implemented. Sources also indicated an ethics investigation was underway into the Navy secretary's office. By late October, when Hegseth fired Phelan's chief of staff, the writing was on the wall.
Feinberg succeeded in stripping Phelan of authority over major acquisition programs, according to reporting. That power consolidation appears to have been one of the main objectives in removing him.
Phelan's firing is just one piece of a larger cabinet instability that has upended Trump's second administration. At least five high-ranking officials have exited in recent weeks. Three cabinet secretaries have left in four weeks: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Republican senators are privately warning that more chaos is coming. Politico reported that GOP lawmakers believe Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel could be next on the chopping block. One senator told the outlet that Trump is operating from a place of anger and is prepared to fire many more people.
Coinciding with Phelan's removal, Iran's foreign minister denounced the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports as an act of war and a ceasefire violation. The White House called Iran's seizure of two commercial vessels in the strait of Hormuz an act of piracy and said the blockade remains effective. The strait, just 34 kilometers at its narrowest, carries roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade.
When Phelan was appointed to the position, Trump called him one of the most successful businessmen in the country.
Author James Rodriguez: "This has all the hallmarks of an internal Pentagon power struggle wrapped in a firing, with Feinberg using the chaos to grab control of shipbuilding before Phelan could reorganize things his way."
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