MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
As the naval blockade of Iran continues, the U.S. secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has been forced out of his job. This is the latest in a series of high-level dismissals at the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and it comes at a time when the Navy is playing a key role in the war in Iran. For more on this, we're joined now by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre. Greg, good morning to you.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Michel.
MARTIN: So what does John Phelan's dismissal as Navy secretary mean at a moment when the U.S. is at war?
MYRE: Yeah. John Phelan was the Navy's top civilian leader. It's a very important position, but we should stress he was not part of the military chain of command. He wasn't responsible for any day-to-day operations taking place in the Middle East. His role was the big picture - to oversee the Navy's budget, its personnel, its effort to build more ships, which President Trump considers a top priority. Just the day before his ouster, on Tuesday, Phelan spoke at a conference about the Navy's upcoming budget, which calls for building more than 30 new ships - part of what's being called the Golden Fleet. And there's even this talk about a Trump battleship. Part of Phelan's speech was posted on social media, saying, quote, "to be a superpower, a nation must be a sea power. And this is the opening move to strengthen American maritime dominance."
MARTIN: So tell us more about Phelan and why Trump appointed him to this position in the first place.
MYRE: So Phelan has no naval experience, but he did have a relationship with Trump. Phelan was a major donor to Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. He's a billionaire businessman. He ran an investment firm in Palm Beach. So he was very much part of Trump's orbit in Florida. Trump appointed Phelan to the position last year at the start of Trump's second term. And it's unusual, though not unprecedented, to appoint someone as a service secretary who doesn't have relevant military experience. Most often, it's someone who has served in the military at some point in his or her life.
MARTIN: Did the Pentagon give a reason for his dismissal?
MYRE: No. His abrupt departure was announced in a brief statement on X by the Pentagon. It said Phelan was, quote, "departing the administration, effective immediately." "We wish him well in his future endeavors." The Navy's undersecretary, Hung Cao, becomes the acting Navy secretary for the moment.
Now, at the official level, that's all we have, but there were signs of tension between Phelan and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. We've seen people around Phelan being dismissed. The issue seemed to include personal friction as well as the way the shipbuilding effort was being handled. Now, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Phelan's dismissal, quote, "another example of the instability and dysfunction that have come to define the Department of Defense under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth."
MARTIN: So what's the bigger picture of turnover at the Pentagon?
MYRE: Yeah. Hegseth has been dismissing senior officials immediately when he arrived at the Pentagon, usually without offering a reason. By one recent count, that number now tops 30, many of them generals and admirals. This has now continued nonstop for well over a year. Earlier this month, the Army chief of staff, General Randy George, was forced to retire after a 40-year military career. This reflects Hegseth's stated desire to overhaul the Pentagon leadership. It's certainly not a great optic at a moment when the U.S. is in the middle of this war with Iran, though it seems likely to continue, Hegseth appears to have Trump's full support for now.
MARTIN: That's NPR's Greg Myre. Greg, thank you.
MYRE: Sure thing, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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