The dismissal of the U.S. Navy secretary exacerbates the Pentagon crisis

BarcelonaThe United States Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has been removed after several months of internal disputes with high-ranking Pentagon officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The dismissal, announced this Wednesday by Department of War spokesman Sean Parnell, highlights the differences within the leadership of the U.S. defense organization, immersed in the war against Iran. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration "with immediate effect," without providing further details. It was the Reuters agency that reported that it was a forced dismissal and not a voluntary departure, as confirmed by sources from several American media outlets.

Phelan had long-standing disagreements with Hegseth and Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg. One of the points of contention was the Navy's shipbuilding program. From the helm of the organization, Phelan had advocated for the "Golden Fleet," which foresees a large investment to modernize the United States fleet, including a "Trump" class battleship model. More than $65 billion from the 2027 defense budget was allocated to acquire 18 warships and 16 support vessels.

Sources from the Reuters agency maintain that the secretary was criticized for being too slow in implementing reforms to accelerate this program. But he is also reproached for disagreements with the second civilian of the Navy, Hung Cao, who, according to the Pentagon, will assume the role of acting Secretary of the Navy.

Phelan's dismissal comes at a critical time in the Pentagon, where the war with Iran appears to have pushed the tension between Hegseth and the top military brass to the limit: since last year, the Trump administration has dismissed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

A few weeks ago, Pete Hegseth also dismissed the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy George, without providing explanations. He has also had strong disagreements with the Secretary of the Army, Daniel P. Driscoll, among other things, due to Hegseth's refusal to promote four army officers —two Black and two women— to one-star generals.

Ideological alignment

Phelan, a billionaire considered to have close ties to President Donald Trump, is the first services secretary appointed by the administration to be fired since Trump returned to office last year. Before joining the administration, he ran a private investment fund based in Florida. "He has probably accepted the biggest pay cut in history, but he wanted to do it," Trump said of Phelan, in December. "He wants to rebuild our Navy. And this kind of brain was needed to do it right."

The Secretary of the Navy has no oversight of the fleets deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, so his dismissal should not directly affect the United States' plans and naval operations to blockade Iran's ports. But, according to the "New York Times", it could affect the stock of Tomahawk missiles and body defense systems. The Secretary of the Navy is ultimately responsible for acquisitions and industrial contracts, so his absence may cause problems in military logistics decision-making or negotiations with defense contractors.

Hung Cao, Phelan's deputy assistant until now and who will take over his post, is more aligned with Hegseth's ideas, especially in social and cultural aspects. A Navy veteran with 25 years of service, he was a Republican candidate for the Senate for the state of Virginia in 2024, but did not win. At that time, when asked why he opposed initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion, he replied: "You can't recruit a drag queen for the Navy, those are not the people we need. What we need are alpha males and females who rip out their guts, eat them, and ask for a second helping."