US navy commander steps down, Pentagon says

US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is leaving the Trump administration, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on April 22.

Parnell added that Deputy Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary.

“On behalf of the secretary and deputy secretary, we thank Phelan for his service to the department and to the US Navy,” Parnell wrote.

Phelan is the latest high-ranking military official to leave the administration in recent months. His departure comes amid the US–Iran war and the ongoing US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.