Pentagon sources say that there was tension for months between now former Navy Secretary Phelan and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg over an apparent dispute over shipbuilding, reports The Guardian.
The firing was seemingly unrelated to the war in Iran. However, in the same week, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps captured two container ships traveling in the Strait of Hormuz.
Hung Cao, a former naval officer, has been named acting navy secretary. Cao was the under secretary of the Navy who worked under Phelan.
Retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold is a national defense analyst and adjunct professor at the United States Naval Academy.
"Ultimately, the secretary of war was unhappy with the direction of the secretary of the Navy, and he is the civilian leader responsible for Title 10, which is really man, train, and equip the Navy. That's his job,” states Lippold.
However, Lippold says Phelan wasn’t a fan of the direction that he was going.
“The Secretary of War felt that we needed new leadership in there to align more with what the president and secretary of war feels that the Navy needs to begin to build in the future," says Lippold.
Meanwhile, Lippold has high praise for the acting SECNAV.
"I think he would be a great choice to eventually become the SECNAV himself. I think that he is well qualified. He has experience as a retired Navy captain. He understands how the Navy works," states Lippold.
Lippold has a warning for Cao.
“The one thing that Hung better be careful of is that he better not get sucked in by all these senior admirals, nor should he get slow rolled by them as well. It is time for him to start shaking up the senior leadership of the Navy," says Lippold.
