Days after firing the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt for publicly asking the government to assist his virus-impacted crew, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly submitted his resignation.

According to ABC News, Moldy resigned on Tuesday morning and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Twitter that he'd named Under Secretary of the Army, James McPherson, as his temporary replacement.

Modly came under fire for his rather blunt remarks to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt about their fired captain, labeling the captain as "too naive" and "too stupid."

But in a statement meant to address the situation, Secretary Esper said Moldy resigned of his own accord, "putting the Navy and the Sailors above self so that the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and the Navy as an institution, can move forward."

This morning I accepted Secretary Modly's resignation. With the approval of the President, I am appointing current Army Undersecretary Jim McPherson as acting Secretary of the Navy. pic.twitter.com/FvfgOwuXw4

— @EsperDoD (@EsperDoD) April 7, 2020

Moldy eventually addressed his controversial remarks via a final Vector message to all Navy sailors, saying, "It's my fault. I own it," about the week's events with the aircraft carrier and its crew.

Modly wrote that the words he used on the Roosevelt were "poor," and he told the sailors that they "are justified in being angry with me about that."

"When I walked on the quarterdeck of the TR I lost situational awareness and decided to speak with them as if I was their commander, or their shipmate, rather than their Secretary," he wrote. "They deserved better, and I hope that over the passage of time that they will understand the words themselves rather than the manner in which they were delivered."