Following the abrupt firing of Navy Secretary John Phelan this week, Trump administration officials have been left on edge as to “who gets axed next,” Axios reported Thursday, with one official ripping the White House for engaging in what they described as “petty” drama.
"It feels so much like petty, high-school or middle-school drama,” the official told Axios, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “You have this pervasive, 'Oh my gosh, what is the next perceived slight that is going to upset the Mean Girls.'"
Phelan’s firing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was so abrupt that the Navy secretary initially did not believe it, and traveled to the White House for confirmation with President Donald Trump, according to CNN’s Kristin Holmes. His ousting has become the 15th abrupt departure of a Defense official during Trump’s second term.
According to Axios, Phelan “irked” Hegseth for having a “direct line” to Trump, with Phelan having fundraised for the president ahead of the 2024 election. Phelan was also tasked by Trump with delivering on a new class of battleships by 2028, a timeline Phelan admitted was “nearly impossible,” according to The New York Times, another potential source of his abrupt ousting.
It was also revealed earlier this year that Phelan had flown on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet at least twice in early 2006. The second flight was reported to have included passengers such as Epstein and Jean-Luc Brunel, a French model scout with significant financial backing from Epstein who, like Epstein, died by apparent suicide in 2022 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.