Rep. Crenshaw reacts to ousting of Navy captain
Navy secretary apologizes for calling captain 'stupid' and 'naive'; Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw weighs in.
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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, a retired Navy SEAL, joined "The Daily Briefing" Tuesday to react to the ouster of USS Theodore Roosevelt commanding officer Capt. Brett Crozier, who sent a critical email to top brass about the need to offload his crew amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Crenshaw told host Dana Perino that while Crozier had proved his worth as a captain and earned a rare level of regard among his crew, he also acted "emotionally" instead of thinking before sending the email, which was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The lawmaker also said then-Acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly -- whose resignation became public later Tuesday -- was right to apologize for comments in which he called Crozier "stupid."
"This one situation has caused so many people to react emotionally, when in reality, what you really need to do is stop and pull back a few layers, and see what happens," Crenshaw said. "The captain is a ... very good captain. It’s rare that you actually garner the support of so many of your sailors the way he has. He was clearly good-hearted and taking care of his people. That is true."
"Another thing is also true: There was no reason to send that email out the way he did. Help was already on the way, they were already in communication with the chain of command, yet he sent that letter out which created a firestorm, and made it seem like there was this injustice going on when in fact, there wasn’t, and everybody jumped on that. He should know better," Crenshaw said of Crozier -- who himself later tested positive for coronavirus.
Crenshaw added that while it is antithetical to military operations to act outside the chain of command, Modly also behaved badly.
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"We just need to be better," said Crenshaw, who added that "the people winning here are our adversaries, because we do have a nuclear [aircraft] carrier that’s not capable right now."
In remarks made to the remaining sailors aboard the ship, Modly said Crozier was either "too naïve or too stupid" to be a commanding officer, multiple sources confirmed to Fox News.
Modly fired Crozier last week after the captain sounded the alarm about the need to offload sailors from the USS Roosevelt due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the ship.
Crozier, 50, had authored a letter warning that an outbreak of the virus had created a dire situation on the carrier.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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