The Pentagon announced in the night from Wednesday, April 22 to Thursday, April 23 that the highest civilian official of the U.S. Navy was leaving his position “with immediate effect”. No explanation was provided, while the conflict with Iran continues to escalate.
A concise statement released on Wednesday, April 22 by the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Defense, served as the announcement. The Secretary of the U.S. Navy, John Phelan, is “leaving the administration with immediate effect”, as stated. While it was specified that his deputy Hung Cao, a Navy veteran and loyal to Donald Trump, will assume the interim role, no other information was given to explain this departure.
John Phelan is not the first high-ranking official of the U.S. military to be dismissed without explanation since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2024, as remembered by RFI. This return was greatly supported by this high-ranking official, who was a significant donor during the campaign.
The Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy George, had already been pushed out at the beginning of April, as well as other high-ranking officials within the NSA intelligence agency, the Coast Guard, the Air Force, and the Navy.
This departure is seen as particularly abrupt, as the former Secretary of the U.S. Navy was speaking the day before, on Tuesday, April 21, at the annual Navy conference in Washington in front of sailors and industry leaders. He had outlined his upcoming agenda for the journalists and met with the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee.
This decision by the Trump administration comes at a critical time for the U.S. Navy. Three aircraft carriers are deployed (or on the way) in the waters of the Middle East, as the United States maintains its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and expresses readiness to resume military operations against Iran if the ceasefire expires.
Published on April 23 at 07:13 by Mina Peltier, 6Médias.
