Navy Sec. Phelan to Newsmax: US Must Invest in Military Again

The United States has "underinvested" in its military and its capabilities for some time, and to return it to strength, President Donald Trump must be given the capability to allocate capital efficiently, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan told Newsmax's Carl Higbie in an exclusive interview.

"I think the real problem, honestly, being involved in this right now, is that we have underinvested in the military and in our capabilities, and the bill for that is now coming due," Phelan said in the interview, airing Friday on Higbie's "Frontline" program. "We have to deal with that, and that means we have to be more efficient with how we spend, but we also need to keep the money to keep maintaining the capability."

Phelan, an investment banker by trade, said there is much to unpack when it comes to questions about shipbuilding and the budget for it, and Trump must be allowed to have the flexibility to allocate the capital.

Building the military, he added, will require a "whole-of-government approach. We do need funding that's predictable and has a multi-year aspect to it."

Trump this week signed an executive order to revive U.S. shipbuilding and to reduce China's hold on the global shipping industry, and Phelan told Higbie that "readiness is my number one priority."

"After visiting the Iowa, our latest Virginia-class sub and being on this ship, we're ready," he said. "I think that our adversaries should not in any way underestimate our capabilities. You're a former SEAL. As you know, you always want to improve and get better. There are things we can do to get better, and that's really my job."

But the United States must "continually invest" in the nation's shipbuilding, because China is closing the gap, said Phelan.

"From what I understand, China built more ships last year than we have since World War II," he said. "I think the president has correctly identified this as an issue. I would actually call it a national emergency. I think that we have hollowed out our economy. We've hollowed out our ability to make things and manufacture things."

Phelan added that despite the actions taken during the Biden administration, he does think the military has the capability to defend the United States, but "we just need to make that gap bigger" with other countries, and that will take proper investments.

"I think we spent a lot of money in the last administration on unnecessary things that did not make sense, which greatly affected our readiness, affected our morale, and our unity as a unit," said Phelan.

Hegseth has announced $5.1 billion in cuts in money that had gone into diversity programs in the military, and Phelan said he thinks the Defense secretary has quickly reversed the DEI issues.

"But we need to stay vigilant on this," he said. "The military to me has always been a very meritocratic organization. As you mentioned, you don't care about color, gender, as long as that person can do the job. We need to make sure we have the best people in that job. That is critical."

Hegseth's policy, Phelan added, has contributed to the military's readiness, including with increases in recruiting numbers that have gone up "substantially."

"We need more people, and we need to do that for sure, and I think that's a direct result of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's policy," he said.

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