US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired his Navy secretary, exacerbating turmoil within the Pentagon in the midst of the Iran war.
John Phelan clashed with Hegseth and other senior officials over efforts to revive US shipbuilding. It follows the sacking of the Army chief of staff this month, and an increasingly public feud between Hegseth and the Army secretary.
Though Phelan’s removal is not likely to have a direct impact on the Iran war or Washington’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, one lawmaker called the dismissal “troubling,” saying it “sends the wrong signal to our sailors and Marines, to our allies, and to our adversaries.”