The Trump administration dismissed John Phelan, the Navy secretary, on Wednesday amid internal disagreements over shipbuilding priorities and management rather than foreign policy issues such as the Strait of Hormuz blockade. The Pentagon confirmed Phelan’s removal, marking the first time a service secretary has been ousted during the Trump presidency.

Phelan, a former private investment fund manager and Trump donor based in Florida, reportedly faced mounting tensions within the department, including strained relations with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg, and his own deputy, Hung Cao. According to sources, concerns within the Pentagon centered on Phelan’s perceived slow progress in implementing Navy shipbuilding initiatives favored by the administration, alongside an ongoing ethics investigation involving the Navy secretary’s office.

Feinberg, in particular, has been noted as seeking to centralize control over Navy shipbuilding and major acquisition programs, a move seen as undermining Phelan’s authority. The decision to remove Phelan had been anticipated since October, when Hegseth dismissed Phelan’s chief of staff, Jon Harrison, shortly before Cao’s Senate confirmation. This dismissal effectively weakened a key ally of Phelan who had been involved in reorganizing Navy offices, a plan that would have diminished the influence of Cao and other undersecretary officials.

Following Phelan’s departure, Hung Cao, a former Navy officer and Republican Senate candidate, assumed the role of acting Navy secretary. Cao’s alignment with Hegseth’s views on military culture marks a shift in leadership style within the Navy’s top civilian ranks. Cao has advocated for a more assertive recruitment approach, emphasizing the need for “alpha males and alpha females” who display exceptional toughness. He has also made controversial remarks in recent years, including comments about “witchcraft” taking hold in Monterey, California, and a personal anecdote about being “African American” due to time spent living in Africa as a child.

Cao’s background includes fleeing Vietnam with his family at age four, enlisting in the Navy in 1989, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, and serving as a special operations officer. His elevation to acting secretary underscores ongoing shifts in personnel and policy direction under the Trump administration’s tenure at the Pentagon.