Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly Resigns in Wake of USS Roosevelt Comments

Official berated former captain of the aircraft carrier, who asked for more help in combatting coronavirus

By Gordon Lubold April 7, 2020 Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday following an uproar after he excoriated the former captain of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose crew had become stricken with the coronavirus, according to U.S. military officials.

Mr. Modly was under pressure to resign after an extraordinary chain of events over the last two weeks that has plunged the Navy into disarray as it scrambles to respond to the Covid-19 crisis, the officials said.

Acting Undersecretary of the Army, James McPherson, has been tapped by Pentagon officials to succeed Mr. Modly in an acting capacity, officials added.

Mr. Modly had removed Capt. Brett Crozier, the commander of the carrier, last week after the captain’s memo—in which he demanded more resources to combat the coronavirus from Navy officials—was leaked to news organizations.

Mr. Modly took the unusual step over the weekend of traveling to the carrier, which now is at port in Guam, to angrily criticize the ship’s former captain in an address to the ship’s crew. That move fueled widespread anger on the ship, at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. However, Mr. Modly issued a statement standing by his words.

Later Monday, President Trump, aware of the outcry over Mr. Modly’s remarks on the ship, said the comments were “rough” and pledged to get involved in the case.

Two hours later, Defense Secretary Mark Esper demanded that Mr. Modly issue a public apology, officials said, and he did so late Monday evening.

By Tuesday, many top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), were calling for Modly’s removal.

Mr. Modly, who is the acting Navy secretary while also the permanent undersecretary of the Navy, will resign both roles, effective immediately, officials said.

As of Tuesday, 230 crew members of the Roosevelt had tested positive for coronavirus, according to Navy officials

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—Lindsay Wise contributed to this article.

Write to Gordon Lubold at [email protected]