Phelan Fired As US Navy Head

Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was removed from his position Wednesday.

CNN is reporting the dismissal followed tensions with Pete Hegseth over shipbuilding reforms and Phelan's close relationship with President Trump.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced that Phelan would depart "effective immediately," even as the Navy continues its blockade of Iranian ports during the ceasefire.

Meantime, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee says, "“Secretary Phelan’s abrupt dismissal is troubling. I am concerned it is yet another example of the instability and dysfunction that have come to define the Department of Defense under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth. In the midst of President Trump’s war of choice in Iran, at a moment when our naval forces are stretched thin across multiple theaters, this kind of disruption at the top sends the wrong signal to our sailors and Marines, to our allies, and to our adversaries."

Earlier in the day, Hegseth spoke with Trump and then informed Phelan he must resign or be fired, according to two sources familiar with the exchange.

(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)