Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has resigned. This comes just two days after a speech in Guam to the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, where he slammed their ousted commander Capt. Brett Crozier for a leaked memo that was a plea for help to contain the coronavirus outbreak aboard ship.

The now-former assistant secretary addressed the crew Monday in an emotional speech over the ship’s PA system. He criticized the captain for a leaked memo that was crozier’s plea for help to contain the coronavirus outbreak aboard ship.

"That email went out to a broad audience of people," he told the crew. "I know that I mentioned that it was over twenty, but we believe it was forwarded to even more than that. And immediately it was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle, which published sensitive information about the material condition of a naval warship. If he didn’t think, it was my opinion, if he didn't think that information was gonna get out to the public in this information age that we live in. then A, he was too naive or too stupid to be the commanding officer of a ship like this. The alternate is that he did it on purpose and that’s a serious violation of the military code of justice."

Modly was forced to apologize as Congressional leaders expressed outrage and called for him to step down. His resignation was accepted Wednesday by Defense Secretary Mark Esper who wrote: “He resigned on his own accord, putting the navy and the sailors above self so that the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the navy as an institution can move forward.”

In his resignation letter, Modley said “more than anything I owe every member of the navy and marine corps team a lifetime of gratitude for the opportunity to serve them, and with them. They are the reason why I will forever remain inspired by the call of service.”

Modly was replaced as acting navy secretary by current Army undersecretary Jim McPherson, who is also a retired admiral.