Trump nominates combat veteran Cao as Navy secretary

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has been nominated to permanently lead the service, according to President Donald Trump.

A retired Navy captain and combat veteran who served 25 years in uniform, Cao has led the Navy and Marine Corps since John Phelan unexpectedly left the post in April.

“I’m grateful for your leadership and support as we continue to get after shipbuilding and ensure the defense of the homeland,” Cao responded to Trump on X.

The nomination comes as the Navy grapples with the demands of the war with Iran, now in its seventh month, and concerns about conditions faced by sailors during prolonged deployments.

“The Senate needs to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP, so he can continue the fantastic work he has been doing over the past 4 months,” Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social in announcing Cao’s nomination.

Trump’s choice of Cao came amid concerns that some sailors have been stretched to the limit during the war with Iran.

The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Thailand on Wednesday after spending 286 consecutive days at sea, a modern-day Navy record. Much of the carrier’s extended deployment was spent supporting combat operations in the Middle East.

Concerns about conditions aboard the carrier grew after a Stars and Stripes report on deteriorating mental health among some crew members and shortages of food and other supplies.

“There is no question our young men and women have been pushed to their limits — but they have never broken,” Cao said in an Aug. 14 statement following the report.

“Unfortunately, the media are trying to paint our warriors as victims,” Cao added, without criticizing the Stars and Stripes article directly. “Not only is that dishonest but it takes away the focus on the enemy and the threat it poses against our nation, people, and way of life.”

Cao said a small number of mental health cases had been treated aboard the Lincoln and that meal plans were adjusted when fresh supplies were unavailable, though he said no meals were missed.

Cao also made news last week with his intervention on behalf of a Marine spouse in Germany. The spouse posted a viral video saying she felt trapped with her children while going through a divorce and feared she could not return to the United States.

“I have directed the Marine Corps to issue orders for your return,” Cao said on X on Aug. 27. “You and your family will be home soon.”

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996, Cao served as a special operations officer, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, according to his Navy biography.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, left, speaks to sailors in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford while underway in the Mediterranean Sea, May 4, 2026. Cao has led the Navy since April, when he stepped in as acting secretary following the abrupt departure of John Phelan. (Mariano Lopez/U.S. Navy)

He worked alongside Navy SEAL teams and other special operations forces before retiring as a captain in 2021.

Cao later entered politics, unsuccessfully running for a U.S. House seat in Virginia in 2022. He challenged Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in 2024 with Trump’s backing but also lost.

While campaigning for the Senate, Cao criticized the Navy’s use of a drag performer in a recruiting initiative and said the military needed “alpha males and alpha females.”

He was apparently referring to Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, one of five members of the service’s Digital Ambassador pilot program, which ran from October 2022 to March 2023.

The program was launched to diversify and expand the Navy’s candidate pool amid a recruiting crisis across the military. Among the first acts of Trump’s second term were various executive orders ending federal initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

Cao has served as undersecretary of the Navy, the department’s second-highest-ranking civilian official, since October 2025. He became acting secretary April 22.

Cao called it “an honor of a lifetime” to be nominated by Trump for the permanent position.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao speaks during the commissioning ceremony for the USS Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio, May 16, 2026. President Trump announced Tuesday he is nominating Cao, now the acting Navy secretary, to serve as the permanent Secretary of the Navy. (Theoplis Stewart/U.S. Navy)

The effort to install Cao as Navy boss also comes amid significant turnover in the Pentagon’s senior leadership. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation this week following reports of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

At least 20 generals, admirals and civilian defense leaders have been fired or otherwise left their jobs since Hegseth became defense secretary, according to CBS News.