In what is being seen as a sudden escalation of internal Pentagon friction, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has forced out the Navy Secretary John Phelan, with the Pentagon framing his departure as "immediate," without providing any reason for his dismissal.

Phelan has been asked to leave just weeks after the US Army Chief of Staff, Randy George, stepped down from his position. The US has also removed two other key Army officials, Gen David Hodne and Maj Gen William Green, as the war in the Middle East rages.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the ouster of Phelan, saying he was “departing the administration, effective immediately," in a post on X. He added that Navy undersecretary Hung Cao, a retired Navy Captain and Hegseth ally, will take over as the Acting Secretary of the US Navy.

Why Was The US Navy Chief Ousted In The Middle Of A War?

Sources familiar with the development, who requested anonymity, told Axios that the US Navy Chief and War Secretary Hegseth did not get along.

Hegseth complained that Phelan repeatedly bypassed the chain of command with a direct line to Trump. The pair shared a good relationship as Phelan lived just a few miles away from Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. The resignation came following months of deepening animosity between Phelan, Hegseth and Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg.

Hegseth also had friction with the US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, widely known to have a good relationship with US Vice President JD Vance. The rift centred on the US Navy's struggling shipbuilding programs, the management of the ambitious “Golden Fleet” initiative, which includes the development of a new “Trump-class” battleship and Phelan's tendency to ignore Hegseth and the hierarchy by communicating directly with the US President.

Pentagon officials expressed frustration that Phelan utilised a personal line to Trump to discuss service matters like “rust on warships,” undermining Hegseth's authority.

"The difference between Phelan and Driscoll is that Driscoll is kicking ass with the transformation initiative. And he’s Vance’s guy. Phelan is none of those things,” a Pentagon insider reportedly detailed. Hegseth, he said, remains in Trump's good graces because he maintains a good relationship with Donald Trump, JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine.

"Those are the four most important relationships he can have, and they’re good,” a senior administration official reportedly noted. He continued, “But you never know around here."

Systemic “Cleansing” Of Top US Military Brass

The dismissal, announced Wednesday, marks the latest in a series of high-level purges within the Trump administration's military leadership and comes at a precarious moment as the US Navy maintains a tense blockade against Iran.

It signals a systemic “cleansing” of top military brass by Hegseth. Hegseth has fired more than a dozen senior military officials, including US Army Chief of Staff Randy George.

George was abruptly removed after a "terse phone call" over the growing suspicion that he had leaked a story to The New York Times about Hegseth blocking the promotion of two Black and two female Army officers, the WSJ reported, citing insider sources.

Who is John Phelan?

Phelan, a billionaire art collector, investment executive and major Trump donor, took office 13 months ago. He had no military experience before his appointment by Trump in March 2025. Phelan was named on a flight manifest that showed he flew to New York from London in 2006 on the private jet of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to CNN. The manifest was included in the Department of Justice's release of millions of files on Epstein, the outlet stated.