Pete Hegseth, the US Defence Secretary, appears desperate to stay in Donald Trump’s good books as he continues his firing spree at the Pentagon in pursuit of a “warrior class”, experts say.
The self-styled Secretary of War is trying to “secure his own position” in a volatile administration by building a military that fits his video game-style vision of war, according to analysts.
While no reason was given for the abrupt departure of US Navy Secretary John Phelan on Wednesday, a senior administration official said Trump and Hegseth had agreed “new leadership at the Navy is needed”.
Tensions had reportedly been growing between Phelan and Hegseth over the Navy Secretary’s approach to building “Trump class” battleships. The Defence Secretary has also been characterised as resentful of the close relationship between the President and Phelan, a businessman and major donor to Trump’s 2024 election campaign.
Trump – frustrated by the slow progress on shipbuilding – became convinced in a meeting with Hegseth that Phelan needed to be replaced, CNN reported.
Phelan, whose exit was announced by a Pentagon spokesperson, is the latest in a string of senior military figures to leave under Hegseth’s watch, with Army Chief of Staff Randy George removed from his post earlier this month. Hegseth has axed more than a dozen senior military figures since he came to office as he seeks to remake the Pentagon in his own macho image.
Dr Mark Shanahan of the University of Surrey told The i Paper: “He’s not safe from Trump’s mercurial decision making, but feels he can create safety by building a Pentagon in the warrior image he deems necessary for the services.”
Hegseth and former Secretary of the Navy John Phelan stand by a rendering of the ‘Trump Class’ USS Defiant, as Donald Trump speaks about his ‘Golden Fleet’ at Mar-a-Lago in Ddecember (Photo: Reuters/Jessica Koscielniak)Communications strategist Kaivan Shroff told The i Paper: “When the level of turnover becomes the norm, it stops signalling accountability and starts signalling instability inside the system, practically speaking it harms our national security in the long run and that gets the media and voters to pay closer attention.
“For Pete Hegseth, the risk is that he gets defined by that churn rather than seen as above it. Trump’s governing style runs on disruption, but there’s a point where constant turnover stops looking intentional and starts looking like a loss of control.”
Phelan, who did not come from a military background, was by the President’s side at Mar-a-Lago when Trump announced his approval of a “Golden Fleet” and a new class of expensive, guided-missile of warships named after himself in a bid to expand the US Navy’s combat capabilities. This placed Phelan at odds with Hegseth, whose strategy for the Navy’s future involved a move toward smaller, cheaper, uncrewed vessels, sources told Politico.
“He’s not of the Hegseth ‘Warrior Class’ and the two seem to have little in common,” Shanahan added. “His appointment, after a career in investment banking, seems a straightforward quid pro quo for donating heavily to Trump’s election campaign.”
Hegseth has brought in Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao to serve as Phelan’s acting replacement, a figure widely seen as more in line with the Maga movement and Hegseth’s mould.
A naval veteran who has served in combat zones, Cao ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for US Senate in Virginia at the 2024 election. During a debate, he reportedly said: “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds.
“Those are the young men and women that are going to win wars.”
He also decried a decline in Christianity in the US, claiming that “witchcraft” had “taken over” in parts of California.
But while Phelan’s departure may appear to be a win for Hegseth, Shanahan warned, “it might be a chimeric one”. The Defence Secretary is facing greater scrutiny over his role in the ongoing war in the Middle East, and Trump could be ready to “throw him under a bus” at any moment.
During his time in the Pentagon, Hegseth has sought to cast himself as an “anti-woke” crusader restoring the military to its former greatness. But his tone and methods have come under repeated criticism, with Tom Nichols in The Atlantic accusing him of spouting the “generic social anxiety and status-resentment that drives much of the MAGA movement”.
Shanahan said: “Hegseth will be judged on how the US gets out of this war with Iran – and the changes he wants to make may neither be in place in time to make a difference or, crucially, deliver the right kind of success for the White House.
“Trump demands loyalty, but it’s wholly one-sided. He also views world events through the prism of how they directly affect the next news cycle and his poll ratings.
“If this war continues to go badly or stalemates and the economic shock turns voters even further against the president, he won’t hesitate to throw Hegseth under a bus, a carrier or any suitable piece of ‘Golden Fleet’ hardware.”
Trump has already sacked two members of his cabinet so far this year, and Dr Georgios Samaras, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at King’s College London, told The i Paper that others including Hegseth are “on thin ice”.
“Nobody should feel safe under the current circumstances. Trump is on a roll and keeps firing people, whom he is willing to blame in hope that they will take the fall for the gigantic failures in Iran.”
He added that Hegseth and other top officials would “have to accept” they will be blamed for decisions made by Trump.
Shroff added: “Trump doesn’t seem to care if these people perform well — he cares most about whether they control the narrative. Once they lose control of the story, they often lose Trump’s support just as quickly.”
The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues under his watch as ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran grind on.
Around 30 ships have been redirected by American forces since the embargo was put in place, with the US on Thursday saying its forces had boarded a sanctioned ship transporting oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean.
But on Wednesday, Iran attacked three cargo ships as they tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Its deputy speaker claims Iran has received the first tolls from shipping in the Strait, though this has not been verified.
The war remains profoundly unpopular with the US public, with the economic fallout of the conflict beginning to grip nations all over the world.
Hegseth, who revels in attacking the left and expunging “woke” commentary from the armed forces, is fighting hard to stay on Trump’s side and turbo-charge the US military – but his aggressive approach could lead both into disaster.
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