Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the US Secretary of the Navy from his position amid Donald Trump’s ongoing war with Iran, centered around the Strait of Hormuz.
John C. Phelan was ousted from his military role on Wednesday afternoon after a disagreement over Trump’s plan for building a ‘Golden Fleet’ of military vessels.
‘The administration really wanted to accelerate the shipbuilding program because of the president’s agenda … and the secretary seemed incapable of accomplishing those goals and he wasn’t well liked,’ a source told The New York Post.
‘When you combine incompetence with arrogance it usually doesn’t end well.’
The Golden Fleet proposal including building a new class of 30,000–40,000 ton, nuclear-capable ‘Trump-class’ battleships, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will become acting secretary of the Navy.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Phelan was ousted after battling with Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg.
Phelan’s departure from the chief Navy position comes as Trump orders ships to engage Iran in the crucial chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz.
His exit was just the latest in a series of resignations plaguing the Trump administration at a critical time for the president.
A spokesperson for Pete Hegseth, the United States Secretary of War, said: ‘Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.
John C. Phelan, the head of the US Navy, stepped down from his role on Wednesday afternoon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provides updates on the continued military operations on Iran during a press briefing on the Iran war at the Pentagon on March 19
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026
‘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. Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.’
The resignation came just weeks after the Army’s highest ranking officer, General Randy George, was told to step down and take immediate retirement.
General Randy George, who was ousted on April 2, was a four-star general and the 41st Chief of Staff responsible for organizing, training and equipping more than one million soldiers, though not a field commander directing tactical strikes.
Hegseth has purged more than a dozen senior officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse.
Trump and the Navy’s presence in the Strait have increased in recent weeks in a bid to bolster pressure on Iran and restrict the country’s ability to profit from oil exports.
General Randy George attends the Heroes ceremony for Medal of Honor recipient retired Army Captain Larry L. Taylor at Conmy Hall, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia, United States on September 6, 2023
An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye prepares to launch from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during Operation Epic Fury
Just two days ago, the US Navy attacked and seized an Iranian cargo ship in the Strait that was attempting to pass through Trump’s blockade.
The Strait of Hormuz usually sees over 3,000 ships sail through – connecting the world via its trade route – but during the ongoing US-Iran conflict, this number has decreased to just a handful a day.
The US Navy began blockading all vessels attempting to leave or enter Iranian ports or the Iranian coastline, including the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, on April 17.
The blockade began when US negotiators failed to broker a peace deal with Iran on April 12, and JD Vance returned from Islamabad empty handed.
Iran doubled down on its pledge to restrict ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remains in place.
For Iran, the strait’s closure – imposed after the US and Israel launched the war on February 28 to stifle Tehran’s nuclear program – is perhaps its most powerful weapon, threatening the world economy and inflicting political pain on Trump.
For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weakened economy and pressures its government by denying it long-term cash flow.
