WASHINGTON, April 23 (Xinhua) — The Pentagon announced on Wednesday the unexpected removal of U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan from his post, without providing any explanation or clarifying whether the decision was voluntary.
The move, just weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Randy George, once again highlights the Donald Trump administration’s sweeping overhaul of military leadership amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
WIDESPREAD DISMISSAL
Since January 2025, a notable number of senior U.S. military and defense officials have been dismissed, replaced, or forced to step down.
After assuming office, Hegseth pushed for sweeping reforms at the Pentagon, calling for reducing the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals by at least 20 percent.
Among the most prominent cases is the removal of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Air Force General Charles Brown, in February 2025. He took office in 2023 after being nominated by former President Joe Biden.
Alongside Brown, several other senior military officials, including Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the Navy as chief of naval operations, and James Slife, vice chief of staff of the Air Force, were also dismissed.
Further changes extended across multiple branches. On April 2, Randy George was dismissed, along with several other senior officers, during a period of heightened military engagement.
The intelligence department was not spared either. In April 2025, Trump fired Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency, along with more than a dozen staff members from the White House National Security Council.
Jeffrey Kruse, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was also removed in 2025 after reportedly presenting assessments that diverged from the administration’s public narrative regarding military operations.
LOYALTY TEST
Phelan’s dismissal was partially attributed to his slow pace in implementing reforms aimed at accelerating shipbuilding, as the U.S. military is “relying on naval assets to carry out a blockade of Iran,” reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, Phelan had fallen out with key Pentagon leaders, including Hegseth, his deputy Steve Feinberg, and the Navy’s Undersecretary Hung Cao, who will take over as acting Navy Secretary, it added.
Randy George faced a similar dilemma to Phelan. His dismissal by Hegseth reflects growing hostility between Hegseth and Army leadership, as reported by The New York Times.
George’s close ties to Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, also contributed to his dismissal, and he was replaced by Christopher LaNeve, a former senior military assistant to Hegseth.
“This appears to be part of a broader, premediated campaign by Trump and Hegseth to purge talented officers for politically charged reasons, which would undermine the professionalism of our military and send a chilling message through the ranks,” said Jack Reed, the leading Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.
“Trump had a dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country,” said Senator Mark Warner.
