President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is nominating Hung Cao to permanently lead the Navy after he spent several months serving as acting secretary.
“I am pleased to nominate a true WARRIOR, Hung Cao, to become the next Secretary of the Navy. We need Patriots like Hung leading our Navy and Marine Corps, and I can think of no one better than him to make sure our Great Navy and Marine Corps remain the FIERCEST and BEST Force the World has ever seen,” the president wrote on a Sept. 1 Truth Social post. “The Senate needs to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP, so he can continue the fantastic work he has been doing over the past 4 months.”
Cao has been serving as acting secretary of the Navy since April, following the sudden and unexplained departure of former Navy Secretary John Phelan.
Before Phelan’s departure, Cao was the Senate-confirmed undersecretary of the Navy, where he served as the department’s chief management officer and was tasked with leading and synchronizing the modernization of the Navy’s unclassified IT systems and critical defense business systems.
A retired Navy captain, Cao served 25 years after entering the service in 1989. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and worked as a Navy diver and Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to lead the great warriors of the Navy and Marine Corps team. I’m grateful for your leadership and support as we continue to get after shipbuilding and ensure the defense of the homeland,” Cao wrote in an X post.
During his time as acting secretary, Cao has emphasized several priorities for the Navy, including bolstering supply chains, accelerating the delivery of dual-use technologies, modernizing, and shipbuilding.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Cao.