President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is nominating Hung Cao to serve as secretary of the Navy.
“I am pleased to nominate a true WARRIOR, Hung Cao, to become the next Secretary of the Navy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, urging the Senate to confirm Cao “ASAP.”
Cao is a retired Navy captain and combat veteran who has embraced the president’s push to reshape the military. He has served as acting Navy secretary since April, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted then-Navy Secretary John Phelan, further shaking up the Pentagon’s senior leadership amid the war in Iran.
Cao previously served as undersecretary of the Navy, the department’s second-highest-ranking civilian official. His nomination to permanently lead the Navy requires Senate confirmation.
He brings more than two decades of military experience to the role. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he served as a Navy diver and explosive ordnance disposal officer, deploying to combat zones including Iraq and Afghanistan before retiring as a captain in 2021.
Cao has drawn attention for controversial comments made before joining the Trump administration. In a 2023 interview with conservative Christian activist Sean Feucht, Cao claimed Monterey, California, had become a “dark place” and that “witchcraft and the Wiccan community” had “really taken over” the area. During his unsuccessful 2024 Senate campaign, Cao criticized the Navy’s use of a drag performer in a recruiting initiative and argued the military needed “alpha males and alpha females.”
He has also been outspoken against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, which the Trump administration has moved aggressively to reverse, along with other Biden-era personnel policies, across the armed forces.
Cao also sought elected office as a Republican, unsuccessfully running for the U.S. House in 2022 and challenging Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in Virginia in 2024 with Trump’s endorsement.
“Thank you, Mr. President. It’s an honor of a lifetime to lead the great warriors of the Navy and Marine Corps team,” Cao said in a post on X after Trump’s announcement. “I’m grateful for your leadership and support as we continue to get after shipbuilding and ensure the defense of the homeland.”
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