CNN's Senior White House Correspondent, Kristen Holmes, reported on Wednesday that there is an unspoken reason Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed a Navy leader.
Holmes reported that Hegseth may have removed Navy Secretary John Phelan because of his proximity to President Donald Trump, rather than for any job-related reason, because he was a threat to Hegseth's power. Initial reports of Phelan's departure indicated Hegseth may have fired him because he was "too slow on ship reform," Holmes said.
"There's another part of this that I think is always key in a Trump White House, which is proximity to power, and the reason being that Hegseth was annoyed by Phelan because Phelan would go directly to President Trump," Holmes said.
"Now remember this, Phelan was not somebody with military experience," she added. "He was a donor. He and his wife had raised millions of dollars for President Trump. He had a personal relationship with President Trump. And in Trump's White House administration, even the top branches of government, the top cabinet officials know that the closer you are to Donald Trump, the more power you have. So, Hegseth felt like Phelan was going around him, having these direct conversations with President Trump."
