Trump names Florida businessman for secretary of the Navy. Who is John Phelan?

President-elect Donald Trump’s newest round of cabinet nominations includes another Florida influence. He tapped businessman John Phelan to serve as his United States Secretary of the Navy.

Phelan, who has never served in the military or had a civilian leadership role with the service, was a major donor to Trump’s re-election campaign. Phelan’s military connection comes from serving on the board of Spirit of America, a military-themed nonprofit.

“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval Servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision. He will put the business of the U.S. Navy above all else,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Phelan is the co-founder and chairman of the Palm Beach-based private investment first Rugger Management, LLC. If confirmed, Phelan would be the first Navy secretary without military experience in 15 years.

Who is John Phelan?

John C. Phelan, born in 1964, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Phelan began as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs & Co. and moved on to a range of financial positions, including vice president at the Equity Group, acquisitions head for Zell-Merrill Lynch Real Estate Opportunity Funds and principal at the investment firm ESL Partners.

In 1998, Phelan co-founded MSD Partners and MSD Capital LP to manage investments for Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies. Phelan is also the co-founder and chairman of Rugger Management LLC, a private investment firm based in Palm Beach.

John is married to Amy Merriman Phelan, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and current philanthropist, and they have one daughter, Makenzie Moon Phelan, from Amy’s first marriage. The Phelans have homes in Palm Beach, Aspen, Colorado, and London.

The Phelans were named one of ARTnews’ top 200 art collectors in 2024, and display works from Andreas Gursky, Lisa Yuskavage, Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Jenny Holzer, Marilyn Minter and others at their Colorado and Florida homes. Both Phelans are on multiple museum boards and councils.

John Phelan hosted a Trump campaign fundraiser

In April, the Phelans hosted a Trump fundraiser at their $38 million Aspen home with participation tiers from $25,000 to $500,000. Guests reportedly included Florida congressman Byron Donalds, Texas governor Greg Abbott, Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert, former Colorado senator Cory Gardner, casino mogul Steve Wynn, billionaire businessman Thomas Peterffy and more, according to various media sources.

A 12-minute recording obtained by The Guardian captured Trump giving a profanity-laced speech at the event about the dangers of waves of undocumented immigrants” and the efforts of “radical leftwing lunatics.” Trump told the crowd this “could be the last election we ever have,” The Guardian said. He also joked about Helen Comperatore, the widow of the man killed in Trump’s assassination attempt.

According to FEC records, “John W. Phelan” of MSD Capital in Palm Beach donated $834,600 to Trump’s joint fundraising committee, Trump 47 Committee Inc, a week before the fundraiser. In October, “John C. Phelan” of MSD Capital in Palm Beach donated $93,300.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump’s Navy secretary cabinet pick John Phelan from Florida

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