April 23, 2026Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Navy Secretary John Phelan. The Pentagon framed it Wednesday as an immediate departure.Why it matters: The ouster of the Navy's top civilian caught many off-guard and adds to the pile of military officials who have either abruptly exited or been pushed out of their posts under Trump 2.0."Phelan didn't understand he wasn't the boss. His job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given," a person familiar with the situation told Axios.The same person said Phelan and Hegseth did not "get along."
Yeah, former Secretary Caputo told Hegseth that the war was wrong!
Despite the turmoil, Hegseth remains in Trump's good graces because he has a solid relationship with the president, Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Axios article goes on to write Hegseth and Trump dream of a "Great Golden Fleet" to rival Roosevelt's "Great White Fleet"
Of note: Phelan sat down with a dozen reporters Tuesday afternoon to discuss the future of the Navy and its major investments, including the Golden Fleet and its battleship and frigate."We're going to really need to improve our ability to build ships," he said at the time.
Thump's pipe dream is the battleship "Trump" the first navy ship to be named after a living president!
Jan 7, 2026America's newly promised warship, the Trump-class neo-battleship, is an oddity.The big picture: The future vessels — should they actually be paid for and constructed — subvert years of precedent, just like the commander in chief.Military thinkers have prioritized dispersion of firepower, people and supplies, especially in the Indo-Pacific. This is not that.
- Outfitting surface ships with nukes, in this case promised to be nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles, bucks decades of post-Cold War practice.
- Warships are named a certain way and after certain people. Here, naming conventions are also out the window.
What we're hearing: While supporters have been the loudest, critics appear to be more numerous.
- "Dumb," one defense industry executive told Axios when asked about the design. "I like the overall energy and vision in Golden Fleet, though."
- "I'm struggling to see the upside, other than lots of missile launchers and 'super lethal,'" another person familiar with the Navy's plans said. "But the downsides and complications are many."
Yup... it is really dumb.
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