Amid Strife and Series of High-Level Military Departures, Hegseth Makes Dramatic Firing

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth terminated Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan on Wednesday afternoon, cutting short his tenure at one of the most consequential moments in recent American naval history.

The United States is currently engaged in an active military and economic confrontation with Iran, with the U.S. Navy operating aggressively in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

The split between Phelan and the administration was not quiet.

Tensions had been building over President Donald Trump’s sweeping naval expansion initiative, known as the “Golden Fleet” — a program calling for the construction of a brand-new class of nuclear-capable warships to be known as “Trump-class” battleships, each displacing between 30,000 and 40,000 tons, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Phelan, sources say, was not moving fast enough.