The Trump administration’s turbulence at the Department of Defense continued Wednesday when Navy Secretary John Phelan was dismissed, effective immediately. According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Phelan was ousted in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms aimed at accelerating shipbuilding — and because he had fallen out with key Pentagon leadership, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The firing comes just weeks after Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general, underscoring an accelerating pattern of wartime leadership reshuffles. The Pentagon’s terse statement confirmed Phelan’s departure but offered no reason, nor did it clarify whether the decision was mutual. It wasn’t.
Meanwhile, questions swirled around President Trump’s foreign policy claims. The White House touted his role in supposedly saving eight Iranian women from execution, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt declaring that “only President Trump could save the lives of these eight beautiful Iranian women.” But, as reporting from New Zealand outlet Stuff noted, “there was one problem” — raising serious questions about the veracity of the claim.
