ALSO SEE: John Phelan Forced Out as Navy Secretary After 13 Months

Defense 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."

Driving the news: Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Phelan was "departing the administration, effective immediately," in a post on X. He did not provide a reason.

• Navy undersecretary Hung Cao will take over in an acting capacity.

The intrigue: Phelan and President Trump are said to have a good relationship. The two have texted about rust on warships.

• But Hegseth felt Phelan had bypassed the chain of command too much with a direct line to Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach is near Phelan's mansion, another source familiar with the situation said.

Zoom out: The firing comes amid a naval standoff with Iran and some three weeks after Hegseth removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and two other military leaders.

• Hegseth has also had friction with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, who has been widely praised for an Army transformation initiative and who is a close friend of Vice President JD Vance.


• "The difference between Phelan and Driscoll is that Driscoll is kicking ass with the transformation initiative. And he's Vance's guy. Phelan is none of those things," said a Pentagon insider.

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.

• "Those are the four most important relationships he can have, and they're good," said a senior administration official.


• "But you never know around here."

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.