Jon Harrison was removed from his role as chief of staff to the Secretary of the Navy on Friday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The sudden ouster, according to two defense officials and a former defense official, follows the confirmation this week of Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao.
A Pentagon official confirmed Harrison’s exit to Newsweek, saying, “He will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy. We are grateful for his service to the Department.”
There was no comment from Harrison.
The Navy secretary’s chief of staff has traditionally been a behind-the-scenes job. But Harrison, a Trump administration appointee who joined the service in January, had a “rare level of power,” according to Politico.
Harrison and Navy Secretary John Phelan had introduced sweeping changes to the Navy’s policy and budgeting offices and sought to limit the influence of the undersecretary job.
Politico had previously reported that Phelan and Harrison had reassigned several aides who were supposed to help Cao navigate the role once he was confirmed. They had also planned to interview all future military assistants for Cao to ensure decisions came from the secretary’s office.
Harrison’s removal comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to centralize authority, revise military culture and streamline decision-making among the Navy’s senior leadership, Newsweek reported.
It also came in the same week that Hegseth forced hundreds of the nation’s highest-ranked military officials to leave their posts around the world on short notice to gather in Quantico for a speech that was highly criticized. The president’s speech that followed drew even more criticism.
Harrison, a Trump administration appointee, assumed the chief of staff role in January. In 2020, President Donald Trump appointed him chairman of the United States Arctic Research Commission.
He held that role until spring 2021, overseeing Arctic policy at a time when White House attention focused on resource development and strategic initiatives in Greenland, Newsweek reported.