Phelan’s dismissal, first reported by Reuters, was the latest wartime shakeup at the Pentagon.
“He’s a hard charger, and he had some conflicts with some other people, mostly as to building and buying new ships,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Got to get along, especially in the military, got to get along, you know. And some people liked him, some people didn’t, and that’s usually the truth about everything.”
Also read: US Navy Secretary John Phelan leaves his job, marks latest departure of a top defense leader
Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, previously told Reuters that Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to speed shipbuilding and because he had fallen out with key Pentagon leadership.
The latest departure comes during a tense ceasefire with Iran, as the U.S. flows more naval assets into the Middle East.
The Pentagon has not provided a reason for Phelan’s departure, nor did it say whether it was Phelan’s decision to go.
A billionaire seen as having close ties to Trump, Phelan is the first administration-picked service secretary to be fired since Trump came back into office last year.
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