US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has resigned, the Department of War said.
“Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately,” the department said in a statement on Wednesday.
Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as acting head of the Navy, the statement added.
Phelan’s dismissal came as a surprise to many, the Axios news portal reported. Phelan did not “get along” with War Secretary Pete Hegseth, but reportedly had a good relationship with President Donald Trump.
“Phelan didn’t understand he wasn’t the boss. His job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given,” a source was quoted as saying by the news portal.
On Tuesday, Phelan met with reporters to discuss the future of the Navy and its major investments, including the Golden Fleet initiative.
Phelan’s resignation has come at a crucial juncture. On April 13, the US Navy began blockading all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for approximately 20% of the world’s oil, petroleum products, and LNG supplies.
Washington maintains that non-Iranian vessels are free to transit the Strait of Hormuz as long as they do not pay Tehran a toll. Iranian authorities have not announced the imposition of a toll, but have discussed such plans.
US President Donald Trump has called the US blockade of Iranian ports “a tremendous success,” adding that Washington is not going to open the Strait of Hormuz until it has “a final deal.”
