US Navy chief leaving post 'effective immediately', Pentagon says

US Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving the Trump administration, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday.

His departure will be "effective immediately", Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a social media post.

Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary, Parnell added.

Phelan is the latest high-ranking military leader to leave the administration in recent months. His departure comes amid the US-Israel war with Iran and the continued US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

"On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy," Parnell wrote. "We wish him well in his future endeavors."

The Navy did not provide a reason for Phelan's departure.

It comes just weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Randy George to step down from his post.

Two other Army officials, Gen David Hodne and Maj Gen William Green, have also been removed from their roles recently.