US Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth fired Navy chief of staff Jon Harrison yesterday, following rising tensions inside the Navy’s leadership.
Pentagon confirmed Harrison’s removal and said that he will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy and thanked him for his service. Harrison declined to comment.
Harrison is a Trump administration appointee who joined in January this year, held an unusually powerful role for what is typically a behind-the-scenes position.
Alongside Secretary Phelan, he led a major restructuring of the Navy’s policy and budgeting offices and reportedly worked to limit the undersecretary’s influence.
Prior to Cao’s confirmation, Phelan and Harrison reassigned aides meant to support him and had planned to vet all future military assistants to ensure control remained with the secretary’s office.
Cao, a high-profile Navy veteran and former Republican Senate candidate, was nominated by Donald Trump to help overhaul the struggling shipbuilding sector.
Harrison’s ouster is the latest in a series of shakeups by Hegseth, who has already removed several top Pentagon aides and uniformed military leaders as part of a broader effort to reassert civilian control and align leadership with Trump’s defense agenda.
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