Senate confirms Trump’s pick to lead Navy and Marine Corps

John Phelan is set to take the helm as secretary of the Navy after the Senate confirmed him for the job Monday by a vote of 62-30.

The SECNAV is the top civilian responsible for leading the Department of the Navy, which also includes the Marine Corps. Phelan, a businessman and co-founder of MSD Capital, was nominated for the post by President Donald Trump.

Ahead of his confirmation hearing last month, Phelan told lawmakers that he planned to push for more investment in uncrewed systems and enabler technologies — such as autonomy, mission systems and communications — for manned-unmanned teaming by the Navy and jointly with the other military services.

He’s coming into the job as the sea service is pursuing a “hybrid fleet” and trying to accelerate the fielding of robotic platforms to counter China, including via Project 33. The Marine Corps is also pursuing collaborative combat aircraft via its Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer-Portfolio (PAACK-P) program, as well as loitering munitions.

Phelan also noted the need for a variety of counter-drone tools, informed by recent Navy efforts to thwart attacks by the Houthis and protect military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Some defense officials have said the military needs cheaper options for shooting down inexpensive adversary unmanned aerial systems.

“The Red Sea engagements provided valuable lessons. While cost exchange ratios are a useful metric against low-cost threats, they don’t encompass the full complexity of naval warfare. I fully support a Captain utilizing the most effective means available to eliminate threats and protect their multibillion-dollar ship and crew. However, we must provide them with a wider variety of reliable options beyond their current limited and costly solutions. If confirmed, I will prioritize expanding development of layered ship defense capabilities, including guns, directed energy, loitering munitions, and other innovative technologies,” Phelan wrote in response to advance policy questions from senators.

The Marines are also gung-ho about counter-drone tech, having recently awarded a $642 million contract to Anduril to deliver, install and sustain a family of systems to protect its installations from small UAS.

Phelan also weighed in on digital threats that the department is confronting expressing his view that the top cyber challenges facing the Navy are securing defense critical infrastructure and weapon systems, increasing cyber force readiness and executing critical modernization efforts.

“Removing legacy information technology, modernizing cryptography, implementing zero trust, and hardening classified networks all contribute to modernizing the Department of the Navy. Importantly, the readiness of our military and civilian workforce is critical for achieving our priorities in cyberspace. It is my understanding that the Navy and Marine Corps have made notable progress in strengthening cybersecurity and resiliency in operational technology environments and in improving the readiness of their personnel in the Cyber Mission Force [overseen by U.S. Cyber Command],” he wrote.

“Additionally, the Department of the Navy recently delivered the first fully validated implementation of a true Zero Trust architecture in the Department of Defense. If confirmed, I will expect the [Navy’s principal cyber adviser] to work closely with the Chief Information Officer and Navy and Marine Corps stakeholders to drive tangible outcomes in these areas,” he told lawmakers.

The department is also placing greater emphasis on information warfare, which includes intelligence, electronic warfare, cyber, cryptology and networks, among other areas.

Phelan told senators that, if confirmed, he would request a detailed briefing on the Navy’s “information dominance” capabilities and determine resourcing, workforce and innovation priorities to integrate into the joint force’s modernization efforts.

“If confirmed, I will empower the Naval Information Warfare Community to recruit, retain and promote the most skilled and qualified Sailors to train and conduct integrated fires to effectively deter and combat threats to our Nation. These actions align to the Department of the Navy Cyber Strategy which calls for effective sequencing and synchronization of non-kinetic effects to generate decisive advantages,” he wrote.

Phelan — who has no previous military experience — will take the helm of the Navy as the Pentagon is in the midst of DOGE reviews, hiring freezes and efforts to reduce the DOD’s civilian workforce by more than 50,000 people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently issued a memo giving service secretaries the authority to request and authorize certain exemptions to the civilian hiring freeze. Last week, the department released another memo with a list of more positions that are eligible for exemptions.

Phelan’s confirmation marks the latest success by the Trump administration in filling high-level posts at the Pentagon.

On March 14, the Senate confirmed Stephen Feinberg as deputy secretary of defense to serve as the Pentagon’s No. 2 under Hegseth. Trump’s pick for Army secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was confirmed in late February. And earlier this month, Katie Arrington was appointed acting Pentagon CIO.

However, other nominees for high-level Pentagon jobs have yet to be confirmed, such as Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Troy Meink as Air Force secretary, among others.

It’s also uncertain who will be the next chief of naval operations working alongside Phelan to lead the sea service. Last month, Trump fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti as CNO and hasn’t nominated a replacement. In the meantime, Adm. James Kilby, vice chief of naval operations, is performing the duties of CNO.

Other key nominations for senior positions that have yet to be confirmed include Michael Duffey to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer; Emil Michael to be undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, a role tasked with fostering next-generation military capabilities and overseeing critical technology areas; and Elbridge “Bridge” Colby to be undersecretary of defense for policy, among others. A confirmation hearing for Meink, Michael and Duffey is scheduled for Thursday.