“Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a social media post today.
Pentagon announcement and immediate succession
Sean Parnell’s social-media statement named the departure and the immediate successor: “Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.” Parnell added, “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. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
No additional details were provided with the post. The Navy referred questions to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which declined to comment beyond Parnell’s post, according to the reporting.
John C. Phelan’s Sea‑Air‑Space appearance and the Trump‑class battleship
The announcement was a surprise coming after Phelan’s high-profile keynote at the Sea‑Air‑Space Exposition in National Harbor, Md., earlier this week. There he publicly championed the Trump‑class battleship as necessary to President Donald Trump’s Golden Fleet initiative, acknowledging prior criticism in a line that was quoted during his speech: “I’ve heard the critiques: too vulnerable, too expensive, too big. We’ve heard that before about carriers and about submarines. And yet, when it matters most, those are the platforms combatant commanders call for first.”
The Navy secretary offered no public hint that his tenure was ending when he made those remarks.
Phelan’s confirmation and professional background
Phelan was confirmed by the Senate as secretary of the Navy in March 2025. The reporting describes his background in business: he previously co‑founded and co‑managed Partner of MSD Capital, LP, a private investment firm representing Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies.
Undersecretary Hung Cao’s naval career and confirmation
Hung Cao will step into the role as Acting Secretary. Cao first joined the Navy as a seaman recruit in 1989 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996. He served more than 20 years as a naval officer with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, and retired from the service as a captain. After uniformed service he became a vice president and client executive at CACI International. The Senate confirmed him as Under Secretary of the Navy in October 2025.
How the Navy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Golden Fleet supporters are positioned
- Navy leadership: The service moves immediately to an acting secretary in Hung Cao, who brings long naval service and recent executive experience; operational and administrative continuity will rest on that immediate succession.
- Office of the Secretary of Defense: The office was the referral point for questions and declined to comment beyond the Pentagon spokesperson’s post, making it the official channel for any further explanation or staffing announcements.
- Supporters of the Golden Fleet initiative and proponents of the Trump‑class battleship: Phelan’s recent public advocacy for the Trump‑class battleship at Sea‑Air‑Space was a high‑visibility endorsement that stakeholders will see as part of his outgoing record.
This departure is the first of a high‑ranking political appointee at the Pentagon under the second Trump administration, according to the reporting. The announcement was terse, public, and immediate; it leaves unanswered operational and policy questions that the Office of the Secretary of Defense has so far declined to expand upon. The story is being reported as breaking and will be updated as new information becomes available.
