President Trump said Thursday that Navy Secretary John Phelan, who was fired a day earlier after 13 months on the job, is welcome to return to the administration in the future.
In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump said Mr. Phelan did “an outstanding job” and helped rebuild a Navy he said was depleted and abandoned under President Biden.
“Now because of John and all the Great Men and Women lovingly and tirelessly involved, we have the strongest Navy in the World – BY FAR!” Mr. Trump wrote. “John Phelan is smart, tough and respected by all and although he has decided to move on from his position as Secretary of Navy, I very much appreciate the job that he has done and would certainly like to have him back within the Trump administration in the future.”
Mr. Phelan was abruptly fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday amid reports of tensions between them. Among the issues between the two men were the speed and approach Mr. Phelan took to shipbuilding, which Mr. Trump had named one of his top priorities.
The two men were said to have clashed over the Golden Fleet, another Trump initiative, as well as the deployment of ships around the world.
Mr. Phelan’s ouster came amid the U.S. naval blockade of Iran, which involves more than a dozen ships. The American military has seized two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has essentially closed to shipping traffic.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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