John Phelan
Secretary of the Navy
John Cartwright Phelan was born in 1964. He earned an undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University. He received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Phelan co-founded two private investment companies and served as an executive of both. He is a philanthropist and has served as a chairman on boards of trustees and foundations.
Phelan was nominated by President Donald Trump to be Secretary of the Navy in November 2024. He was confirmed by the Senate and assumed office in March 2025.
He is married to Amy, and they have one daughter.
In the News…
U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan discussed Operation Southern Spear as the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group made its way to the Caribbean.
“The military’s job is to defend the homeland,” Secretary Phelan said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing, and we’re using our best assets to defend the homeland.”
“Drugs kill more Americans than we’ve ever lost in wars,” the Navy secretary continued. “So I think at the end of the day, the president has correctly identified this as an attack on the country, which it is.”
“The president is very focused on shipbuilding. He has been on me about it for a long time and continues to stay after me, which is great, because he’s committed to it and it’s really important,” Secretary Phelan added. “We hollowed out our manufacturing base in this country. And it’s really important that we learn how to make things.”
He concluded, “We spent the last 10 years teaching people how to code. We’re gonna spend the next 10 years teaching [people] how to use their hands, because those are going to be the important skills.”
