WASHINGTON, April 23 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- US Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is stepping down "effective immediately," chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced on social media Wednesday, reported Xinhua.
Parnell, who is also the assistant to the Secretary of Defence for public affairs, said in a brief post on X that the secretary of the navy is leaving, without providing any explanation for the sudden departure.
Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao will take over in acting role, the spokesman said.
The announcement came as the US Navy is carrying out a blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz during a ceasefire in the war with Iran.
The Secretary of the Navy is a civilian position that oversees the Department of the Navy and is responsible for policy, administration, budgeting, and overall readiness.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has removed multiple senior military officers across the department since assuming leadership at the Pentagon. In early April, he fired the US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and two other generals amid the Iran war.
It is unclear what led to Phelan's departure. Just a day ago, he addressed a major, annual maritime conference -- the Navy League's annual Sea Air Space conference -- just outside of Washington, DC.
--BERNAMA-XINHUA
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
