WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his job, the Pentagon abruptly announced Wednesday, the first head of a military service to depart during President Donald Trump鈥檚 second term but just the latest or be ousted.
No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the Navy鈥檚 top civilian official, coming as the sea service has imposed a and is during a tenuous . Another Trump loyalist is taking over as acting head of the Navy: Undersecretary Hung Cao, a 25-year Navy combat veteran who ran unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate and House in Virginia.
Phelan鈥檚 departure is the of top leadership at the Pentagon, coming just weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Army鈥檚 top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George. Hegseth also has fired several other top generals, admirals and since taking office last year.
The firings began in February 2025, when Hegseth removed military leaders, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy鈥檚 top uniformed officer, and Gen. Jim Slife, the No. 2 leader at the Air Force. Trump also as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Showing how sudden the latest move was, Phelan had addressed a large crowd of sailors and industry professionals on Tuesday at the Navy鈥檚 annual conference in Washington and . He also hosted the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee to discuss the Navy鈥檚 budget request and efforts to build more ships, according to a social media post from his office.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a post on X that Phelan was 鈥渄eparting the administration, effective immediately.”
John Phelan had been a major Trump donor
Phelan had not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service before Trump nominated him for secretary in late 2024. He was seen as an outsider being brought in to shake up the Navy.
Phelan was a major donor to Trump鈥檚 campaign and had founded the private investment firm Rugger Management LLC. According to his biography, Phelan鈥檚 primary exposure to the military came from an advisory position he held on the a nonprofit that supported the defense of Ukraine and the defense of Taiwan.
The Associated Press could not immediately reach Phelan鈥檚 office for comment. The White House did not answer questions and instead responded by sending a link to Parnell鈥檚 statement.
Phelan is leaving during a busy time for the Navy. It has three in or heading to the Middle East, while the Trump administration says all the armed forces are poised to resume combat operations against Iran should the ceasefire expire.
The Navy also has maintained a heavy presence in the Caribbean, where it has been part of a campaign of . It also played a major role in the in January.
Hung Cao, new acting Navy secretary, ran unsuccessful bids for Congress
Taking over as acting secretary is Cao, who ran a failed U.S. Senate bid in Virginia to try to unseat Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in 2024. He had Trump鈥檚 endorsement in the crowded Republican primary and gave a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Cao’s biography includes fleeing Vietnam with his family as a child in the 1970s. In a campaign video for his Senate bid, he compared Vietnam鈥檚 communist regime during the Cold War to the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden.
During his one debate with Kaine, Cao criticized COVID-19 vaccine mandates for service members as well as the military鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that鈥檚 not the people we want,鈥� Cao said from the debate stage. 鈥淲hat we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. Those are the young men and women that are going to win wars.鈥�
Trump and Hegseth have in the military, banning the efforts and .
When he ran for Congress in Virginia in 2022, Cao expressed opposition to aid for Ukraine during a debate against his Democratic opponent.
鈥淢y heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. … But right now we鈥檙e borrowing $55 billion from China to pay for the war in Ukraine. Not only that, we鈥檙e depleting our national strategic reserves,鈥� Cao said.
Cao graduated from the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, before attending the U.S. Naval Academy.
He was commissioned as a special operations officer and went on to serve with SEAL teams and special forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia before retiring at the rank of captain, according to his Senate campaign biography.
Cao also earned a master’s degree in physics and had fellowships at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
Since becoming Navy undersecretary, Cao has championed returning to duty service members that refused a Biden-era mandate to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
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