Acting Navy boss submits resignation amid virus uproar

WASHINGTON — Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned Tuesday, bringing to a climax an extraordinary drama he advanced by delivering a profanity-laced upbraiding of the officer he fired as captain of the coronavirusstricken USS Theodore Roosevelt.

In announcing the resignation, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Mr. Modly quit on his own accord, “putting the Navy and the sailors above self,” so the Navy and the Roosevelt can move forward. The Roosevelt is sidelined in port at Guam as members of the crew are tested for the coronavirus and moved ashore. “His care for the sailors was genuine,” Mr. Esper said.

Mr. Esper said he briefed President Donald Trump on his conversation with Mr. Modly, and with the president’s approval he is appointing James McPherson as acting Navy secretary. Mr. McPherson, a Navy veteran, is currently serving as undersecretary of the Army. He was confirmed in that position by the Senate last month.

Mr. Esper called Mr. McPherson a “smart, capable and professional leader who will restore confidence and stability in the Navy during these challenging times.”

Mr. Esper said he also met with Navy leaders and emphasized three priorities, including putting the health, safety and welfare of the Roosevelt crew first, and working to get the ship back out to sea as soon as safely possible.

Mr. Modly had created a combustible controversy by firing the Roosevelt’s skipper, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, last week, saying Capt. 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.

Mr. Modly then flew to the ship, at port in Guam, and delivered a speech to the crew Sunday in which he lambasted Capt. Crozier, saying he was either “too naive or too stupid” to be in charge of an aircraft carrier.

According to a senior defense official, Mr. Esper spoke to Mr. Modly on Monday evening, directing him to apologize for his remarks about Capt. Crozier and setting a phone meeting for Tuesday morning. The official said Mr. Esper did not request or demand Mr. Modly’s resignation, but instead discussed the situation and the way forward. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Mr. Modly came to his own conclusion and offered his resignation. His options were few. Officials said it would have been difficult for him to rebuild his relationship with sailors in the fleet, and equally hard to restore his reputation among senior military leaders and retired naval officers who believed his sharp remarks on the Roosevelt crossed a line.

Asked about the resignation, Mr. Trump said Tuesday that he didn’t know him or speak to him but credited Mr. Modly for resigning “to end that problem.” It was, he said, an “unselfish thing to do.”

By the time Mr. Modly issued his public apology Monday night, the calls among Democrats in Congress for his resignation were mounting. On Tuesday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr. Modly must go.