Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, has apologized for statements he made about the relieved commanding officer of a COVID-19 ridden warship. Despite the apology for his originally unkind comments about the captain, Democrats have called for Modly to step down.
Modly appeared to worsen the controversial situation when he gave a surprise speech to sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt and called ousted Captain Brett Crozier “too naïve or too stupid” to be a commanding officer of a ship like this, Reuters reported.
Modly later issued an apology to the Navy and Crozier and said, “Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Cozier is naive nor stupid. I think, and always believed him to be the opposite. We pick our carrier commanding officers with great care. Captain Crozier is smart and passionate.”
Modly said he wanted to apologize for any “confusion this choice of words may have caused.”
Meanwhile, President Trump has said he may step in to put out the smoldering fire between Crozier and Modly.
The president said at a press conference on Monday, that he might get involved in the public crisis playing out in the Navy over Crozier who was relieved of duty after raising the alarm about a coronavirus outbreak on his ship in a leaked letter.
Trump told reporters at the conference that he is good at “settling arguments.” Trump said Crozier should have resisted sending the letter but he did not want to destroy “somebody for having a bad day.”
Despite all of that, several Democrats in Congress are calling for Modly to be fired following the speech in which he admonished the ship’s former commander for expressing concerns over the coronavirus in a strongly worded letter that was leaked to the media.
Virginia Rep. Elaine Luria, a Navy veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for Defense Secretary Mark Esper to fire Modly for his remarks about Capt. Brett Crozier, who he called “too naïve or too stupid” to lead the carrier.
“TR Sailors are on the frontlines of this pandemic and of our nation’s defense in the Pacific,” Luria tweeted Monday. “Acting @SECNAV remarks to the crew show that he is in no way fit to lead our Navy through this trying time.@EsperDoD should immediately fire him.”
Many Democrats argued Crozier was looking out for the health and safety of his crew and was being punished for the Navy’s muzzled response. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Marine veteran, also called for Modly to be sacked over his remarks.
“Modly should be removed unceremoniously for these shocking remarks — especially after failing to protect sailors safety and health. He has betrayed their trust,” Blumenthal tweeted, while also calling for a Department of Defense Inspector General investigation.
California Rep. Ted Lieu, who is a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, called Modly a “hypocrite” after his speech was leaked while saying he wasn’t fit to lead the Navy.
Modly is facing a wave of criticism after he accused Crozier of “betrayal” for his letter warning that the coronavirus had created a dire situation on the ship, which is now docked in Guam.
Last week The San Francisco Chronicle published the letter in which Crozier pleaded for help to contain the virus, which had infected at least 155 sailors aboard the ship, including himself.
He was relieved of his command last week after defense officials said he went outside the chain of command by leaking the letter to the press.
President Trump backed Modly’s decision over the weekend, saying Crozier “shouldn’t be talking that way in a letter. I thought it was terrible what he did.”
Despite the captain being relieved of command of the vessel, crew members cheered him as he departed the carrier.
UPDATE: Since the penning of this article, it has just been learned that Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly did offer his resignation on Tuesday, a day after the leaked audio discussed in the body copy above.
According to the Associated Press, The Navy and Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Undersecretary of the Army James McPherson has been tapped to succeed Modly, a defense official has told the press. McPherson is a retired rear admiral and was the former judge advocate general of the Navy.