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Posted on 04/22/2026 3:19:21 PM PDT by Kleon
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is leaving the Trump administration “effective immediately,” a spokesman for the Department of Defense said 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,” the spokesman, Sean Parnell, said on X. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
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I’m available........
Not a good sign.
ON the wr0ong side of gunboat diplomacy?
Or just ready to retire?
People don’t generally retire ‘suddenly, effective immediately’.
Let’s hope Hung Cao isn’t a bum steer.
Well lets see if he appears on the View?
Passenger manifests released as part of the Epstein files indicate that Phelan flew twice on the plane of Jeffrey Epstein several months before Epstein’s first arrest on sex charges. The first flight took place on February 27, 2006, from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Luton Airport. The manifest for the second flight, from London to New York on March 3, 2006, indicates that Phelan flew with 12 other passengers, including Epstein, modeling agent and Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel, and six people whose names are redacted on the version of the manifest released in October 2025 by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will become acting secretary of the Navy, Parnell said.
I like Hung Cao. I think he will do well as secretary.
Effective Immediately sounds like he’s being thrown out now, not even allowed to clear his desk or collect his briefcase.
Chances are we will never fully know what happened. or what it is now assumed happened.
Why?
Behind-the-scenes context points to long-simmering internal power struggles Phelan (a Trump mega-donor, private-equity founder with no prior military or Pentagon experience) and his chief of staff Jon Harrison had repeatedly tried to centralize power in the Secretary’s office and sideline or limit the traditional authority of the Undersecretary role—specifically targeting Hung Cao (a 25-year Navy veteran, Trump-endorsed political ally, and vocal MAGA figure).  • In mid-2025, Phelan/Harrison reassigned aides meant for Cao, rerouted correspondence, and planned to vet Cao’s military assistants to keep decisions flowing through the Secretary’s front office. Insiders described it as a “consolidation of power.” 
• When Cao was confirmed, he reportedly complained to Hegseth’s team. Hegseth responded by firing Harrison in October 2025—without even notifying Phelan first—signaling that Phelan’s faction had lost.
 • These clashes created ongoing tension between Phelan and Hegseth. Recent reporting (including WSJ references circulating on X) describes Phelan’s ouster as the culmination of “months of simmering tensions” with Hegseth. 
A secondary vulnerability was the February 2026 revelation that Phelan flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane twice in 2006 (New York–London and London–New York legs, alongside Epstein and others). While this drew scrutiny and was added to his Wikipedia page, it surfaced months earlier and did not immediately derail him—so it was likely not the direct trigger, though it hurt his optics.
Agreed. From what I could gather, Phelan bypassed leadership (including Hegseth) and tried to go straight to Trump and Hegseth didn’t appreciate the insubordination. I also like Hung Cao.
how the hell would you know?
Of course you say that. Everything that happens is not a good sign.
Good. Navy Secretary should be a man with extensive military experience, not be a gift for political loyalty.
Some of them, like Phelan, had their own companies and were used to getting their own way. Phelan seems to have used his relationship with Trump to bypass Hegseth, and other reports are Hegseth (and probably Trump) were unhappy about lack of progress addressing the shipbuilding problem.
Phelan also had no Navy experience. Cao is a graduate of the Naval Academy and spent 30 years in the Navy.
I voted for him in his run against Kaine .
Hope he does well in his new position.
Phelan
(a Trump mega-donor, private-equity founder
with no prior military or Pentagon experience)
-
He should never have been in that position.
Suspect it will turn out to be a wise choice in the near future, just after the mid terms...
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