John Phelan, Secrétariat de la Marine américaine, quitte son poste de manière inattendue

John Phelan joins the list of high-ranking officials in the American military dismissed, generally without explanation, since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

A major departure within the American armed forces amid Middle East conflict. The Secretary of the United States Navy, John Phelan, is leaving his position “with immediate effect,” a spokesman for the War Department said on Wednesday, April 22, without providing further explanation. His deputy, Hung Cao, will temporarily assume those duties.

“We thank Secretary Phelan for his service rendered. (…) We wish him good luck in his future endeavors,” wrote Sean Parnell on X.

A millionaire with no military experience, described as close to Donald Trump, John Phelan took office in March 2025, on the recommendation of the White House tenant. “John will be a significant asset to our sailors and an unwavering leader in implementing my ‘America First’ vision,” the Republican president said at the time.

According to several sources interviewed by Reuters, John Phelan was “dismissed because he was slow to implement reforms aimed at accelerating shipbuilding.” The highest civilian official of the U.S. Navy was also “in conflict with key figures in the Pentagon’s leadership.”

His name is added to the list of high-ranking officials in the American military dismissed, generally without explanation, since Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025. In early April, the chief of staff of the Army, General Randy George, was similarly pushed out overnight. Two other generals, David Hodne, in charge of army transformation and training, and William Green Jr, at the head of the military chaplain corps, met the same fate.

As early as February 2025, shortly after Donald Trump’s return to power, the interagency chief of staff installed by former Democratic president Joe Biden, General Charles “CQ” Brown, was dismissed without justification. A few months later, in mid-August, the chief of staff of the Air Force, General David Allvin, announced his sudden departure after two years in office.