Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable John C. Phelan, stands during the national anthem at the commissioning ceremony of the Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) in Norfolk, Virginia, April 11, 2026. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Oliver McCain Vieira)
Phelan’s surprise exit comes a day after he delivered a keynote address at the Sea-Air-Space symposium, in which he touted plans for a next-generation battleship.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R) speaks alongside US CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper (L) during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
Department of War Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies appears at a Senate Committee on Armed Services subcommittee hearing on cybersecurity on Capitol Hill on March 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Stephen Feinberg, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Defense, testifies during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on February 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump spoke about the successful military mission to rescue a weapons systems officer whose F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down in Iran. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George attend the 2025 National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2025. (DoW photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Aiko Bongolan)
