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U.S. Acting Navy Secretary Resigns Over Comments

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has resigned after his controversial comments of the officer he fired as captain of a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, officials confirmed. Modly had come under fire for dismissing Captain Brett E. Crozier, last week, saying Crozier had shown “extremely poor judgment.” He referred to Crozier distributing a letter calling for urgent help with the virus COVID-19 outbreak aboard his ship.

He also flew to the ship at the port in Guam, where he told the crew that Crozier was either “too naive or too stupid” to command an aircraft carrier. Modly, pressured by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, later apologized for his remarks. And at a White House briefing, President Donald Trump also expressed his concerns about the captain’s future status, saying: “I don’t want to destroy somebody for having a bad day.”

The president reaffirmed that Crozier’s decision to sending the letter “was a mistake; he should have gone through his chain of command.” But Trump added: “I’m not looking to destroy a person’s life.” It was not immediately clear whether Esper had accepted Modly’s resignation.

Earlier on Tuesday, U.S.U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi added her voice to calls for Modly’s removal. “Sadly, Acting Secretary Modly’s actions and words demonstrate his failure to prioritize the force protection of our troops,” Pelosi said in a statement.

The number of USS Theodore Roosevelt sailors testing positive for COVID-19 was 173, according to Navy figures released Monday, with 61 percent of the ship’s crew of 4,800 having been tested. The Navy was moving 2,700 crewmembers off the carrier and into quarantine facilities on Guam, including some empty hotels on the island.