Nov. 27 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump has tapped businessman and art collector John Phelan to lead the U.S. Navy, according to a statement.
On Tuesday night in a social media post, Trump said Phelan will be “a tremendous force for our Naval Service members, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision” as he announced his nomination of Phelan.
The job requires a Senate confirmation but Trump has indicated his interest to appoint cabinet members via recess appointments in what will be a GOP controlled Congress next year.
Phelan, 60, a Florida native who has not served in the military, is founder and chair of Florida-based investment firm Rugger Management LLC. And he was a managing partner of the private equity company MSD Capital.
“He will put the business of the U.S. Navy above all else,” Trump wrote.
According to sources familiar with the subject, Politico reported, Phelan was picked after a series of interview on Monday at Trump’s Florida estate.
On Wednesday morning, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., praised Trump’s choice saying how “we must return our military to its rightful position as the most lethal fighting force in the world,” he posted on social media.
It arrived on top of Tump’s controversial pick of FOX News co-host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. The Wall Street Journal reported Trump is also looking at businessman Steve Feinberg and defense investor Trae Stephens to possibly be second-in-command at the Pentagon.
But on Tuesday morning, Democratic strategist Matt McDermott pointed out on X how Phelan “appears to have absolutely zero relevant experience for the job.”
In April, Phelan had donated more than $800,000 to Trump’s fundraising committee and to a variety of other Republican-affiliated organizations, according to FEC filings. And in August, Phelan hosted a high-price fundraiser with his wife Amy in Aspen, Colo. where Phelan owns a $38 million estate.
Trump’s cabinet picks were described as the “most overtly political cabinet in American history” by Paul Rieckhoff — a veteran, host of Independent Americans and founder if Independent Veterans of America — who pointed out Phelan’s lack of Navy service or “of any other branch of military service.”
Meanwhile, Trump called Phelan a “true champion of American enterprise and ingenuity” and claimed Phelan’s “record of success speaks for itself.”
The Navy secretary-designee got a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science in 1986 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and an MBA in 1990 from Harvard Business School.
Phelan’s “intelligence and leadership,” according to Trump, are “unmatched.”
His “incredible knowledge and experience,” Trump added, will “deliver real results” and “elevate the lives of the brave Americans who serve our Nation.”