Trump's Navy secretary abruptly fired in the middle of Iran war

The top civilian appointed by Trump to lead the Navy was suddenly ousted on Wednesday, The New York Times reported.

Navy spokesman Sean Parnell announced the move on X without an explanation, saying Navy Secretary John Phelan resigned "effective immediately" and that Undersecretary Hung Cao would take over in the interim.

"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," Parnell wrote. "We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Phelan's swift and unexplained departure comes as Trump wages a war with Iran and tries to leverage a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in his favor.

In the comments of Parnell's post, users wondered if Phelan's decision had to do with his name being listed on a 2006 flight manifest connected to Jeffery Epstein.