Pete Hegseth Fires Navy Secretary John Phelan as US Blockade of Iranian Ports Continues

The Pentagon announced that U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan would leave the Trump administration “effective immediately,” with Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell saying the departure was immediate and that Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao would become acting secretary.

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Axios

Axios reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Phelan, framing it as an immediate departure, and CNN said Phelan was ousted Wednesday while the U.S. Navy carried out a blockade of Iranian ports during a ceasefire in the Iran war.

BBC

CNN described the timing as “particularly shocking,” noting that the Navy was playing a critical role in stopping Iranian ships from traversing the Strait of Hormuz and that “Thus far, US forces have redirected 31 vessels to return to port and have also boarded two ships.”

BBC similarly said Phelan’s departure came amid the US-Israel war with Iran and the continued US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, while CBC said the ouster came as the U.S. imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and targeted ships linked to Tehran around the world during a tenuous ceasefire.

In its statement posted on X, Parnell wrote, “On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy,” and added, “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

The BBC reported that the Navy did not provide a reason for Phelan’s departure, and CNN likewise said the Navy directed queries about details to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which did not immediately respond.

Multiple outlets tied Phelan’s removal to friction over how quickly and directly the Navy should pursue shipbuilding and procurement priorities tied to President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Axios said Phelan “didn't understand he wasn't the boss,” adding that his job was to “follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given,” and it described a lack of “get along” between Phelan and Hegseth.

CBC

CNN reported that earlier Hegseth had a conversation with Trump and informed Phelan he needed to resign or be fired, and it quoted a senior administration official saying, “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed.”

NBC News said the “speed and approach Phelan was taking when it came to shipbuilding” appeared to be the main reason for the firing, and it described clashing with the Pentagon’s No. 2, Stephen Feinberg, over shipbuilding decision-making.

The Guardian said people familiar with the dynamics at the Pentagon told it Phelan was fired and described an increasingly rocky relationship with defense secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior staff who “openly appeared to prefer Cao for the role.”

In the background of those disputes, Axios said Phelan had direct communication with Trump that Hegseth viewed as bypassing the chain of command, and it noted that Phelan and Trump had texted about rust on warships.

After Phelan’s departure, Undersecretary Hung Cao was named acting secretary, with multiple outlets describing him as a 25-year Navy veteran and a political figure in Virginia.

BBC said Parnell added that “Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary,” and it reported that Cao is a 25-year Navy veteran who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the US Senate in Virginia in 2024, endorsed by Trump, against incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine.

CBC also described Cao as a “25-year Navy combat veteran” who ran unsuccessful Senate and House bids in Virginia and said he was taking over as acting head of the Navy.

CNN said the White House directed it to Parnell’s statement and quoted Parnell’s post on X, “Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.”

The BBC reported that during a campaign debate, Cao criticized the military’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and quoted him saying, “What 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,” while the CBC version included the same quote.

The Guardian added that Cao ran a failed US Senate bid in Virginia to try to unseat Tim Kaine and that he was a 25-year navy veteran who served in combat zones, with a biography that included fleeing Vietnam with his family as a child in the 1970s.

While all outlets agreed on the “effective immediately” departure and Hung Cao’s acting role, they diverged on how the firing was carried out and what it was attributed to.

Axios said the Pentagon framed it as an immediate departure and reported that “Phelan didn't understand he wasn't the boss,” while also describing that Hegseth felt Phelan bypassed the chain of command with a direct line to Trump.

i24NEWS

CNN said earlier Hegseth had a conversation with Trump and informed Phelan he needed to resign or be fired, and it described Phelan seeking confirmation from the president himself or someone close to him, going to the West Wing lobby and having Trump meet with him briefly.

NBC News reported that by Wednesday evening there were “differing accounts” about whether Phelan knew he was being fired before the announcement, with “Three people familiar with the matter” saying he did not know until he saw the post on X and a “senior administration official” saying he was notified ahead of time.

The Guardian said people familiar with the dynamics told it Phelan was fired and added that Hegseth in effect blamed Phelan for not going aggressively enough against senator Mark Kelly after appearing in a video advising troops to ignore “illegal orders.”

BBC, by contrast, said the Navy did not provide a reason for Phelan’s departure and that the Pentagon did not provide a reason, while it still placed the departure amid the blockade and the US-Israel war with Iran.

The leadership shakeup landed while the U.S. Navy was enforcing a blockade and targeting Iranian-linked ships during a ceasefire, raising questions about continuity at a moment of heightened operational risk.

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i24NEWS

CNN said the announcement came even while the Navy was carrying out a blockade of Iranian ports during a ceasefire and emphasized that “the Navy playing a critical role in stopping Iranian ships from traversing the Strait of Hormuz.”

L'Express

It reported that “Thus far, US forces have redirected 31 vessels to return to port and have also boarded two ships,” and it described clashes continuing in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran announced it had “seized” two ships in the strait.

BBC similarly said the Navy’s change in leadership came as Trump said the US blockade of Iranian ports would continue amid a ceasefire and that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US, said on Wednesday it is “not possible” for the Strait of Hormuz to be re-opened due to “the blatant violations of the ceasefire” by the US and Israel.

NBC News said the American military has seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran called it a violation of the precarious ceasefire, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Wednesday that the seizure was not a violation because they were “international vessels,” and insisted the blockade has been “massively effective.”

Across the reporting, the immediate consequence was that Hung Cao would take over as acting secretary while the blockade continued, with CNN and BBC both tying the leadership change to the ongoing Strait of Hormuz operations and the ceasefire dispute.