White House sends Hung Cao’s nomination for Navy secretary to US Senate
In the United States, the White House has sent Hung Cao’s nomination for the position of Secretary of the Navy to the Senate. Cao has been serving as acting Navy secretary since April, when previous secretary John Phelan left the post.
Cao’s nomination
President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Cao for the position in early September. In a Truth Social post on September 1, Trump called him a “true warrior” and urged the Senate to confirm the nomination as soon as possible.
As Breaking Defense reports, Cao previously served as Under Secretary of the Navy. He enlisted in the Navy in 1989 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996. Cao served during deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia and spent more than 20 years in total as an officer.
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Congressional waiver required
Cao ended his military service in 2021 with the rank of captain. To be appointed Secretary of the Navy, he needs a waiver from the House of Representatives and the Senate, as U.S. law requires secretaries of military departments to have been retired for at least seven years.
After leaving military service, Cao worked as vice president and head of client operations at CACI International. He also unsuccessfully ran for the House of Representatives in Virginia’s 10th District in 2022 and for the U.S. Senate in 2024, when he competed against Democrat Tim Kaine.
Other nominations
The White House also sent to the Senate William Toti’s nomination for the position of Under Secretary of the Navy and retired Vice Adm. Richard Breckenridge’s nomination for the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In May, the Navy said that Toti, who had previously been a senior adviser to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, began serving as the department’s second-ranking civilian leader. In June, Breckenridge was selected for the position of senior adviser for shipbuilding.
