US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth fired Navy Secretary John Phelan from his post, and the latter went directly to the White House to ask US President Donald Trump if the decision was final.
News of Phelan’s overthrow caught him and many inside the Pentagon completely off guard on the night of Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
The Pentagon’s top spokesman announced that Phelan would be leaving “effective immediately,” without offering any explanation.
They added that Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao would take over as acting secretary while the administration decides what’s next.
According to a report from wall street newspaper, Pete Hegseth had been increasingly frustrated with Phelan for months for two main reasons.
- Hegseth believed that Phelan was moving too slowly on shipbuilding reform, a priority on which the administration had staked considerable political capital.
- Hegseth was irritated by what he saw as Phelan walked around him to speak directly to President Trump.
The now-former Secretary of the Navy’s mansion is located near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and the two have built a close friendship over the years, which the Secretary of War apparently saw as a threat to his authority.
At a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, discussing shipbuilding progress, Trump appeared unhappy and frustrated with the results and reportedly asked Secretary Hegseth to address the situation.
Reports claim that Hegseth immediately asked Phelan to resign and threatened to fire him if he did not comply. Phelan went straight to the White House to ask Trump about his impeachment and returned empty-handed.
The latest firing of a high-ranking official comes after Hegseth fired the Army Chief of Staff and two other Army generals.
