The secretary of the US Navy says he doesn’t consider a tweet by President Donald Trump an order and would need a formal order to stop a review of a sailor who could lose his status as a Navy SEAL.

“I need a formal order to act,” Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said on Saturday, and referred to the tweet. “I don’t interpret them as a formal order.”

Trump insisted on Thursday the Navy “will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin,” inserting himself into an ongoing legal review of the sailor’s ability to hold onto the pin that designates him a SEAL.

The Navy on Wednesday notified Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher that he will face a review early next month to determine if he should remain on the elite force.

Gallagher was acquitted of a murder charge in the stabbing death of an Islamic State militant captive, but a military jury convicted him of posing with the corpse while in Iraq in 2017. He was then demoted to chief.

Spencer, speaking on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, said if the President requests the process to stop, the process stops.

“Good order and discipline is also obeying the orders of the President of the United States,” he said.

Despite the differing views with the president over the appropriate handling of the case, Spencer told reporters that he has not threatened to resign over the issue.

But he acknowledged that he serves at the pleasure of the president.

“The president the United States is the commander in chief. He’s involved in every aspect of government and he can make decisions and give orders as appropriate,” he said.

Gallagher’s lawyers have accused the Navy of trying to remove the SEAL designation in retaliation for Trump’s decision last week to restore Gallagher’s ran

Gallagher filed a complaint with the inspector general accusing a rear admiral of insubordination for defying Trump’s actions.

Trump’s initial order in Gallagher only referred to restoring his rank, but it did not explicitly pardon the SEAL for any wrongdoing.

Removing Trident pins means recipients will no longer be SEALs but could remain in the Navy.

The Navy has revoked 154 Trident pins since 2011.

-AAP