Acting Navy secretary resigns amid flap over coronavirus-hit ship

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has resigned, two defense officials said, a day after he ridiculed and then apologized to a captain he had ousted for raising concerns about a coronavirus outbreak on his aircraft carrier.

Modly offered to quit in a Tuesday morning conversation with Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the officials said. Esper accepted his resignation and has selected Under Secretary of the Army James McPherson to replace Modly as acting Navy secretary, according to the officials.

The revelation comes after Modly’s stinging remarks about Capt. Brett Crozier, broadcast over the loudspeakers on the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Monday, drew criticism from lawmakers and disapproval from President Donald Trump.

The controversy began last week when Crozier, the commanding officer of the Theodore Roosevelt, sent a strongly worded memo to a broad array of Navy officials begging for help amid a COVID-19 outbreak on the ship. The memo leaked to the press and generated a series of headlines. ... (Read more)

Latest News