Navy Secretary abruptly leaves job as US naval blockade of Iran continues

Originally Published: 22 APR 26 17:53 ET

By Haley Britzky, CNN

(CNN) — Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is leaving his position “effective immediately,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced on Wednesday.

“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,” Parnell said in a post on X. “We wish him well in his future endeavors. Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.”

The announcement comes while the US Navy is carrying out a blockade of Iranian ports during a ceasefire in the Iran war. Thus far, US forces have redirected 29 vessels to return to port and have also boarded two ships.

Phelan is a businessman with no prior military service; he and his wife previously fundraised millions of dollars for President Donald Trump’s campaign before he was confirmed as Navy secretary in 2025.

“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump said at the time. “He will put the business of the US Navy above all else.”

It’s unclear what led to Phelan’s departure, which is the first among the military service secretaries nominated under Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has, however, removed numerous senior military officers across the services since taking the helm at the Pentagon.

The announcement of his departure comes the same week as a major, annual maritime conference — the Navy League’s annual Sea Air Space conference — was being held just outside of Washington, DC. Phelan and other senior Navy leadership attended and spoke at the conference.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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