The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that the navy’s top civilian official, John Phelan, the secretary of the navy, is leaving his job.
In a statement posted to social media, Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said Phelan was “departing the administration, effective immediately”.
Hung Cao, the navy undersecretary, would become acting secretary of the navy, Parnell said.
Reuters, citing an anonymous source, reported Phelan had been fired by the Pentagon.
Pentagon says navy secretary is leaving, marking another top leader’s departure
The sudden departure comes just a day after Phelan addressed a large crowd of sailors and industry professionals at the navy’s annual conference in Washington DC, and spoke with reporters about his agenda.
Phelan’s departure also comes just weeks after Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, fired the army’s top officer, Gen Randy George. Hegseth also has fired several top generals, admirals and other defense leaders since taking office last year. As with many of those other firings, Pentagon officials did not offer a reason for Phelan’s departure.
Phelan is leaving just as the US navy has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and is targeting ships linked to Tehran around the world during a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war.
Iranian forces seize two ships in strait of Hormuz amid doubts over further peace talks with US
Iranian forces seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz as the US and Iran doubled down on imposing separate blockades of the shipping waterway.
The standoff over the strait – through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied fossil gas passed through during peacetime – has raised doubts about whether stalled peace negotiations will resume.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and lead negotiator, said late on Wednesday that reopening the strait of Hormuz would be “impossible” while the US and Israel committed “flagrant” breaches of the ceasefire, including the US naval blockade, “the hostage-taking of the world’s economy” and “Zionist warmongering”.
Trump approval slips in recent polling
A trio of political polls indicate public approval of Donald Trump’s management of the US economy, immigration and the Iran conflict is slipping, flashing warning lights for Trump-aligned Republican candidates with six months to go until the US midterm elections. Polls by Reuters-Ipsos poll, Strength in Numbers-Verasight and AP-NORC had the president’s approval rating hovering in the mid-30s, at 36%, 35% and 33% respectively, which are near his lowest numbers.
Democrats demand Kash Patel take alcohol abuse test
House judiciary Democrats have launched a formal inquiry into the alleged drinking habits of the FBI director, Kash Patel, demanding he complete a standardized alcohol abuse assessment and submit the results to Congress. Democrats on the committee called on Patel to take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Audit) – a 10-question World Health Organization screening tool used to identify harmful patterns of drinking – along with a sworn statement attesting to his answers. Lawmakers also requested all security clearance questionnaires Patel has completed since taking the role.
White House close to deal of up to $500m to rescue ailing Spirit Airlines
The White House is finalizing a financing package to help ailing US budget carrier Spirit Airlines, which could receive as much as $500m in loans as rising costs continue to plague the company. News of the potential deal comes as Spirit and others struggle with soaring fuel costs due to the war with Iran.
What else happened today:
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday struck down several Trump administration actions slowing down development of clean energy, including a requirement that all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters be personally approved by the interior secretary, Doug Burgum.
Billionaire crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Tuesday sued World Liberty Financial, the digital currency venture co-founded by Donald Trump and his sons, alleging that World Liberty illegally froze his holdings of tokens issued by the company.
The health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, faced intense questioning from several US senators on Wednesday during a hearing largely focused on how the administration has responded to the measles outbreak and the spread of vaccine misinformation.
The Pentagon is aiming to increase funding more than a hundredfold for an autonomous drone warfare program, according to budget documents released this week, signalling a major pivot towards AI-powered war.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 21 April 2026.
