Donald Trump nominates John Phelan for Secretary of the Navy
Donald Trump picked John Phelan for Secretary of the Navy. Trump described Phelan as someone who would be a tremendous force for the naval service and someone who would help advance Trump’s America First vision. However, the authors of a Military.com article take issue with the fact that Phelan does not have military experience. They sighted another individual who filled the same role who also lacked military experience. The authors pointed to this latter individual’s work with the Pentagon and with top defense contractors as if they were “mitigating” factors.
From Military.com:
While it is not unusual for service secretaries to have been major fundraisers or donors prior to assuming their duties, what is unusual about Phelan is his lack of any military experience.
The last Navy secretary to have no connection to the military was Donald Winter, who served in the George W. Bush administration from 2006 to 2009. However, Winter’s resume included work for the Pentagon and top defense contractors. Before being selected for the job, Winter was the head of a branch of Northrop Grumman, one of the top 10 largest defense contractors used by the Pentagon.
“John will be a tremendous force for our naval service members and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump said in his statement, adding that Phelan “will put the business of the U.S. Navy above all else.”
Trump boasted about Phelan’s work in running a private investment firm for Michael Dell, the founder of the computing giant Dell Technologies and argued that “his record of success speaks for itself.”
In addition to his work in finance, Phelan is a well-known art collector, appearing on ARTnews’ Top 200 collectors list in 2024.
Since the beginning of the modern structure of the Defense Department following World War II, only five of the 28 confirmed Navy secretaries had no military or government service in their past.
Of those five, one secretary — Gordon England — had been a top executive at General Dynamics and Lockheed before being named to the top Navy job. His nomination and service came under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was a proponent of picking people with CEO experience to run the services. However, those choices were controversial at the time, and one of his picks for Army secretary ended up being blocked by the Senate.
Additional Reading:
Toropin, K., & Beynon, S. (2024, November 27). Trump picks big donor with background in finance and little experience with the military for navy secretary. Military.com. Link.
Category: Donald Trump, Navy
