Acting Navy Secretary Just Resigned After Calling Coronavirus Whistleblower Captain ‘Stupid’

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Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly submitted his resignation Tuesday after giving an address to crew members aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt during which he called its ousted captain “stupid” for speaking out about the coronavirus outbreak on the ship, according to multiple media outlets.

It’s now up to Defense Secretary Mark Esper to accept or decline Modly’s resignation.

Audio of Modly’s expletive-laden address, which he gave Sunday via the ship’s public address system, leaked to Task & Purpose. He laid into their former commander Capt. Brett Crozier, who was relieved of his duties after he pleaded with Navy officials for more resources to treat a coronavirus outbreak onboard the ship, currently docked in Guam.

Modly also apologized for his remarks in a statement Monday night, saying he didn’t really believe Crozier to be stupid.

“If he didn't think, in my opinion, that this information wasn't going to get out into the public, in this day and information age that we live in, then he was either A, too naive, or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this,” Modly said in the leaked address.

Modly wasn’t pressured to resign by members of the administration, according to an anonymous source who spoke to Politico, although a day earlier, President Donald Trump had said he might “get involved” because “two good people” were arguing.

In a letter that subsequently leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle last week, Crozier warned Navy officials of a coronavirus outbreak among dozens of sailors on his ship that could quickly turn dire, due to the 4,000-plus crew in his care and limited access to quarantine space. (That outbreak has since grown to 150 crew members, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.) Modly said that letter wasn't sent securely and broke Crozier’s chain of command.

Crozier remains in the Navy but was removed from his position as the ship’s captain. As he left the USS Theodore Roosevelt for the last time, on April 2, his crew applauded him and chanted his name.

Cover: Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly testifies during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee about about ongoing reports of substandard housing conditions Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019 in Washington, on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)