President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that he will nominate acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to be the permanent Secretary of the Navy. Trump referred to Cao as a "true WARRIOR" and implored the Senate to confirm him immediately.
President Donald Trump will nominate acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to permanently serve in the position, the president calling Cao a "true WARRIOR" and saying he needs a "Patriot" to lead the Navy and Marine Corps. Trump said in a Truth Social post that he can "think of no better person" than Cao to keep the Navy and Marine Corps "the FIERCEST and BEST Force the World has ever seen."
Cao is a retired Navy captain and combat veteran. He was sworn in as the acting Secretary of the Navy four months ago, where he manages the Navy and the Marine Corps. Before this he served as the 35th Under Secretary of the Navy from October 2025 until Cao was tapped by Trump to be the Navy Secretary.
"The Senate needs to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP, so he can continue the fantastic work he has been doing over the past 4 months," the president added.
He says thank you to the President and reiterates that his focus would continue to be on Shipbuilding and Homeland Defense. The U.S. Navy has been operating at an intense level of conflict in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, under Operation Epic Fury, and the reports are that many sailors are serving for extended periods of time at sea.
He is a Vietnamese-American combat veteran of Special Warfare who served for 25 years and completed multiple combat deployments. He is a vocal opponent of the military's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and agrees with the President's efforts to reverse such practices throughout the Military.
Before entering the administration of President Trump, Hung Cao ran for Congress in Virginia's 10th Congressional District in 2022 as a Republican and lost. He ran against incumbent Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia in the 2024 U.S. Senate election for Virginia and lost to Kaine by a hair. He must receive confirmation by the Senate for nomination to permanently serve as Secretary of the Navy.
The Navy is operating at one of the highest levels of readiness in a generation. Carrier strike groups, guided missile destroyers, and submarines are all seeing high levels of deployment. Cao's focus will likely be on implementing reform to increase the nation's shipbuilding capacity and ensuring that the Navy is as ready as it can be to defend the homeland.
AFP interviewed Cao in-person in December of last year at the Pentagon.
