NEW: The acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has quit amid public outrage over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Defense Secretary Esper accepted his resignation.
Joshua Roberts/ReutersFive days after firing the commander of a coronavirus-crippled U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and a day after apologizing for calling that skipper naive and stupid in heated remarks to that warship's crew, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly called it quits. Defense Secretary EsperModly submitted his resignation amid public outrage over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt and growing demands from congressional Democrats for his removal.
Modly's departure as the Navy's top political official comes two weeks after the drama of the Roosevelt began, when the warship confirmed its first three cases of COVID-19 among more than 5,800 crew members after making port calls in Vietnam. On Thursday, Modly sacked Crozier, a decision he called his own. He then paid a surprise visit to the Roosevelt on Monday morning local time, where he addressed the crew over the ship's loudspeakers, sprinkling his remarks with obscenities and accusing Crozier of betrayal.
News of Modly's departure after just five months at the helm of the Navy came at the same hour that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosihis resignation or removal, saying he had shown"a serious lack of the sound judgment and strong leadership needed during this time.
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