After the Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, was suddenly dismissed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump issued a new shoot-on-sight order to the Navy. The move has man wondering if the now-former Secretary was dismissed for refusing to follow that same order.
Trump Gives Navy a Shoot-on-Sight Order a Day After Firing its Leader– www.westernjournal.com
News Source
EXCERPT:
A day after former Navy Secretary John Phelan was dismissed, President Donald Trump revealed he had given the Navy a major set of new orders.
The White House officially announced Wednesday that Phelan was leaving his post, but Fox News reported that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had fired Phelan.
It was unclear if there was any connection between Phelan’s departure and Trump’s Thursday post, in which he said he issued an order that could lead to the Navy firing on Iranian vessels.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“There is to be no hesitation,” Trump wrote.
“Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!” Trump added.
Iran Sorely Miscalculated
“Iran’s decades-long bluff—built on terror proxies, nuclear brinkmanship, and Western appeasement—collapsed the moment it faced direct force and a changed geopolitical landscape.”https://t.co/y6wg9UcndG
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 23, 2026
