President-elect Donald Trump has nominated John Phelan, a major donor to his campaign and founder of private investment firm Rugger Management LLC, to be secretary of the Navy. Phelan has no military or civilian leadership experience in the service, raising concerns about his ability to achieve Trump's goals. The Navy is currently stretched thin with deployments around the world and faces a shrinking fleet while China's naval forces are growing. Trump has called for an expansion of the Navy, but it remains uncertain whether a secretary with no military experience would be able to lead that effort effectively.