Acting Navy boss submits resignation amid coronavirus uproar
WASHINGTON (AP) - Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has submitted a letter of resignation to Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
That's according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the matter before an official announcement.
The official says Modly has also told staff he is quitting.
Modly had created a combustible controversy by firing the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt last week, saying Capt. Brett E. Crozier had shown “extremely poor judgment” in widely distributing by email a letter calling for urgent help with the COVID-19 outbreak aboard his ship.
Modly then flew to the ship, at port in Guam, and delivered a speech to the crew in which he lambasted Crozier, saying he was either “too naive or too stupid” to be in charge of an aircraft carrier. On Monday night, at Esper’s insistence, Modly issued a public apology, but by then the calls among Democrats in Congress for his resignation were mounting.
Earlier, the Modly had been forced to apologize after a profanity-laden broadside in which he called the fired commander of the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt "too naive or too stupid.”
Thomas Modly issued a written apology after President Donald Trump, at a White House news conference, described his comments about Capt. Brett E. Crozier as “rough.”
Modly had relieved Crozier of command of the aircraft carrier last week. He said he'd lost confidence in Crozier for having shown “extremely poor judgment” in widely distributing a memo pleading for an accelerated evacuation of the crew members to protect their health.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Modly should lose his job.
“Sadly, Acting Secretary Modly’s actions and words demonstrate his failure to prioritize the force protection of our troops," Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a written statement. “He showed a serious lack of the sound judgment and strong leadership needed during this time. Acting Secretary Modly must be removed from his position or resign.”