U.S. Navy Secretary Stepping Down After 13 Months

U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan will leave his position 13 months after his confirmation by the Senate, becoming the first civilian leader of an armed service to leave office in the second Trump administration.

Pentagon officials did not provide any reasons for Phalen’s abrupt departure, which came without the warnings that have preceded the firings of multiple top generals and admirals.

Hung Cao, the Navy under secretary and a retired captain, will serve as the acting Navy secretary, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a social media post.

“On behalf of the Secretary of [Defense Pete Hegseth] and Deputy Secretary of [Defense Steve Feinberg], we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy,” Parnell said. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Phelan, who managed an annual Navy budget of $263.5 billion during his abbreviated 13-month term, founded Rugger Management, a private investment company. He had previously managed the investment firm of Michael Dell, the computer entrepreneur.

Shortly after taking office last year, Phelan blocked a decision to award a contract for the F/A-XX program to Boeing or Northrop Grumman. He initially cited a need to review the balance of crewed and uncrewed aircraft in the carrier air wing of the future. Phelan and other defense officials also raised concerns about the capacity of the U.S. aerospace industry to deliver the next carrier-based fighter on time.

The Navy now plans to award a contract in August to launch the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the F/A-XX program.

Phelan’s departure will come amid a series of firings in the top ranks of military officers at the Pentagon. Hegseth dismissed Gen. Randy George earlier this year. But Hegseth had already fired Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the joint chiefs; Gen. David Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations.