President Donald Trump on Thursday praised John Phelan, who stepped down Wednesday as Navy secretary, saying he did "an outstanding job" helping rebuild the Navy after what he described as it being "almost abandoned" by the Biden administration.
The Pentagon announced Wednesday that Phelan, the Navy's top civilian leader, would depart the administration "effective immediately." Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao was named acting secretary.
No reason was provided for Phelan's departure.
"John Phelan is a longtime friend, and a very successful businessman, who did an outstanding job serving as my Secretary Of The Navy for the last year," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
"John helped my Administration rebuild Sleepy Joe Biden's rapidly depleted, and almost abandoned, Navy. Now, because of John, and all of the Great Men and Women lovingly and tirelessly involved, we have the strongest Navy in the World — BY FAR!" he continued.
"John Phelan is smart, tough, and respected by all, and although he has decided to move on from his position as Secretary Of The Navy, I very much appreciate the job that he has done, and would certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future. A very special thank you to John for his service to the United States of America!"
Trump's praise came amid reports that Phelan was forced out or fired because of clashes with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Deputy Secretary of War Steven Feinberg over shipbuilding reform and his close relationship with Trump.
The Washington Post, citing five unnamed officials, reported Phelan, a billionaire art collector and fundraiser for Trump's reelection campaign, was forced out after repeated clashes with Hegseth and Feinberg over his management of shipbuilding and a variety of other issues.
Axios, citing an unnamed source, reported Phelan caused friction as Hegseth believed he bypassed the chain of command too often with a direct line to Trump. Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, is near Phelan's mansion.
Phelan said in a statement, "I leave with deep respect for those in uniform and full confidence that this force will continue to fight tonight and win tomorrow. God bless the United States of America and the men and women in uniform who defend her."
Phelan's departure came three weeks after the Pentagon announced that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George was retiring, though Hegseth reportedly asked George to step down. Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., the chief of Army chaplains, also departed at the same time, in what media reports have described as a leadership shake-up by Hegseth.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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