John Phelan, the recently dismissed Navy Secretary, refused to accept his firing until President Donald Trump confirmed it face-to-face, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Phelan spent Wednesday night at the White House, waiting to see if Trump, a longtime friend and neighbor, would intervene. He ultimately left without a reprieve.
Background of the Dismissal
Phelan was asked to resign on Wednesday as part of a broader reconfiguration of top Navy positions led by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. This occurred amid the ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports. Upon leaving, Phelan described the role as "the honor of my life."
Capitol Hill insiders indicate that Hegseth and Trump believed Phelan was not working hard enough to build Trump's "Golden Fleet," a collection of "Trump-class" battleships intended to match China's naval advancements. Trump announced the construction of the USS Defiant at the end of 2025, promising it would be ready in two and a half years.
Challenges with the Golden Fleet
According to insiders, Hegseth and Trump felt Phelan was not sufficiently pushing for the Pentagon's largest-ever budget request or prioritizing the president's shipbuilding plans. However, retired Colonel Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) called Trump's timeline impossible. Writing for CSIS, Cancian stated, "It will take years to design, cost $9 billion each to build, and contravene the Navy’s new concept of operations, which envisions distributed firepower. A future administration will cancel the program before the first ship hits the water."
Trump's Comments on Phelan's Departure
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Trump said, "[Phelan is] a hard charger and he had some conflicts with some other people, mostly as to building and buying their ships. I’m very aggressive in the new shipbuilding, and somehow he just didn’t get along with them."
Meanwhile, the USS Nimitz, the Navy's oldest functioning aircraft carrier, originally slated for decommissioning in 2026, has been re-commissioned for another year due to delays in delivering the new JFK carrier.
Phelan's Relationship with Trump
Another factor in Phelan's firing was his close relationship with Trump. As a longtime donor and friend, Phelan often bypassed Hegseth to speak directly to the president, which the Secretary of War reportedly would not tolerate. According to the Wall Street Journal, Phelan was already being excluded from top meetings before his resignation. He is being replaced by Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao.
This is not Hegseth's first major firing. In early April, he removed Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, along with General David Hodne and Major General William Green Jr. Insiders suggest these firings were driven by personal paranoia about his own job security. Despite the ongoing conflict with Iran, rising gas prices, and plummeting polls, Hegseth appears to retain the president's support.
