A top Navy official is out after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth abruptly fired Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison on Friday, escalating what sources describe as a growing internal power struggle at the Pentagon.
Harrison’s dismissal comes just days after Hegseth’s speech at Quantico and the Senate’s confirmation of Hung Cao as Navy Undersecretary — a Trump appointee now positioned as the No. 2 civilian under Navy Secretary John Phelan. The timing of the move has raised eyebrows among insiders, with one official calling it “a clear sign the knives are out.”
Harrison, along with Phelan, had backed Hegseth’s push to reshape internal Navy operations—scrapping outside contracts, fast-tracking policy rewrites, and clearing space for Cao’s transition team. But the sudden shake-up suggests friction behind the scenes.
“Jon Harrison will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy. We are grateful for his service to the Department,” a Defense Department spokesperson said in a short statement. No further explanation was offered, Politico reports.
Harrison previously served as chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, a post he was appointed to in 2020. He stayed on through spring 2021, during which time the Arctic emerged as a strategic hotspot for the administration.
The second Trump term has made no secret of its interest in the region. President Trump has openly floated the idea of buying Greenland. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the island in March, pointing to its “critical natural resources,” and by June, the administration moved to reopen 13 million acres of previously restricted Arctic land for oil and gas drilling—reversing Biden-era protections.
No successor has been named, and it’s unclear whether Harrison’s removal was part of a broader purge—or a warning shot.
