Trump announces nomination of Hung Cao as permanent Navy secretary

President Trump announced on Tuesday, September 1 that he is formally nominating retired Navy Captain Hung Cao to serve permanently as Navy secretary. Cao will require Senate confirmation to fill the role permanently; he has held the acting position since April 2026 after former Navy Secretary John Phelan departed unexpectedly.

Cao is a 25-year Navy veteran and special operations officer who served with SEAL teams and special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He previously served as Navy undersecretary under Phelan before stepping into the acting secretary role. Unlike Phelan, who had not served in the military or held a civilian leadership role in the service, Cao brings active-duty military experience to the position.

Trump posted on Truth Social that "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," according to the Washington Examiner. Trump also urged the Senate to confirm Cao "so he can continue the fantastic work he has been doing over the past 4 months." In a separate statement reported by the Guardian, Trump called Cao "a true WARRIOR" and urged the Senate to "confirm this Warfighter, ASAP."

Cao called the nomination "the honor of a lifetime to lead the great warriors of the Navy and Marine Corps team," according to the Guardian. When initially tapped to fill Phelan's acting role, Cao vowed to fulfill Trump's desire to ramp up shipbuilding, which Phelan struggled to achieve. Per the Washington Examiner, if approved by the Senate, Cao will have more capacity to make good on that pledge.

Before joining the Trump administration, Cao ran two unsuccessful congressional campaigns in Virginia: he was the Republican nominee for Virginia's 10th Congressional District in 2022 and the GOP nominee challenging Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) in the 2024 Virginia Senate election, according to the Washington Examiner. The Guardian describes Cao as a Trump loyalist.

Cao's nomination comes amid scrutiny of Navy operations following reports from the extended USS Abraham Lincoln deployment, which supported the Iran war. The aircraft carrier's nine-month deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea, and concerns emerged following reports of deteriorating mental health among crew members and shortages of supplies including food and hygiene products, according to the Guardian. The USS George Washington has since replaced the Lincoln. Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona are pressing the Pentagon for accountability over conditions aboard the Lincoln, per the Guardian.

Cao championed returning to duty service members who refused a Biden-era mandate to take the COVID vaccine, according to the Guardian. He also said he had no problem with the Navy's demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, flying so low over a crowded Florida beach in July that chairs and tents went flying, per the Guardian.

Cao's nomination comes one day after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation following disagreements with War Secretary Pete Hegseth, per the Washington Examiner. The nomination marks another change in the top ranks of the U.S. military, according to the Guardian.