Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned Tuesday after fanning the flames of a controversy over a coronavirus outbreak on board an aircraft carrier.
In a tweet, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he accepted Modly’s resignation and that undersecretary of the Army James McPherson will take over as acting Navy secretary.
“This morning I accepted Secretary Modly’s resignation. He resigned of his own accord, putting the Navy and the sailors above self so that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and the Navy as an institution, can move forward,” Esper said in a statement attached to the tweet. Continue reading.
In an extraordinary reversal, Thomas Modly, acting secretary of the Navy, has apologized for mocking Capt. Brett Crozier, who was removed from his post after warning about a coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker reports for TODAY.