Who is John Phelan? MAGA donor with no military experience sacked as Trump’s Navy Secretary

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsWho is John Phelan? MAGA donor with no military experience sacked as Trump’s Navy SecretaryMaira Butt Thursday 23 April 2026 12:24 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2963301","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/john-phelan-us-navy-sacked-b2963301.html","title":"Who is John Phelan? MAGA donor with no military background sacked by Hegseth"}}CloseNavy Secretary ousted in latest top military departure from Trump administration as US wages war in IranSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regSourceSection":"US politics","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}US navy secretary John Phelan has left his role immediately amid reports of a falling out w...