Stunned Navy secretary went to Trump disbelieving he'd actually been fired: report

The former Trump-appointed Navy Secretary who suddenly departed amid a naval blockade in Iran didn't believe Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth when he was told to leave, a senior White House correspondent reported.

Hegseth "did the firing," CNN White House correspondent Kristin Holmes reported on Thursday, by asking former Navy Secretary John Phelan "to resign or be fired." Phelan resigned on Wednesday in what seemed to be a sudden and unexplained departure, but Holmes said that "there was an enormous amount of tension between Phelan and Pete Hegesth."

Meanwhile, Phelan and Trump "actually had a pretty good relationship," Holmes said. "He and his wife had both been donors for President Trump, so they had built a relationship on that."

Phelan didn't believe Hegseth when he told him to leave and went to Trump to confirm his ouster, Holmes reported. Ultimately, the former Navy Secretary resigned, making way for failed Virginia political candidate Hung Cao to take over.

"Phelan not really believing this was coming from President Trump. President Trump is the only one with the authority to actually fire him," Holmes said. "Which led Phelan to being at the White House and asking President Trump point-blank if he was fired."

Trump posted kind words for Phelan on Truth Social, calling him "a long-time friend, and very successful businessman, who did an outstanding job serving as my Secretary Of The Navy" on Thursday.

"John helped my administration rebuild Sleepy Joe Biden’s rapidly depleted, and almost abandoned, Navy," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "John Phelan is smart, tough, and respected by all, and although he has decided to move on from his position as Secretary Of The Navy."