April 23, 2026
63,767
2,259
285
3.99%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
8:19Now PlayingDonald Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suddenly fires the top Navy Secretary that was favored by Trump, John Phelan, as suspicious infighting is revealed and panic grows over military destabilization during Trump's war. John Iadarola and Yasmin Kahn break it down on The Damage Report. Leave a comment with your thoughts below!
Read more here:
Pete Hegseth fires U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan
"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Navy Secretary John Phelan. The Pentagon framed it Wednesday as an immediate departure.
Why it matters: The ouster of the Navy's top civilian caught many off-guard and adds to the pile of military officials who have either abruptly exited or been pushed out of their posts under Trump 2.0.
"Phelan didn't understand he wasn't the boss. His job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given," a person familiar with the situation told Axios.
The same person said Phelan and Hegseth did not "get along.""
**
Be part of the Dragon Squad as a YouTube channel member
Follow The Damage Report on Facebook
Help build the Home of the Progressives
Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel
Follow The Damage Report on TikTok
Follow The Damage Report on Instagram
Follow The Damage Report on Twitter
#TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurks
260423__DR03Hegseth
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.