Senate confirms Hung Cao as Navy under secretary

The Senate confirmed former Virginia Senate candidate and retired Navy Capt. Hung Cao as Navy under secretary today, by a 52-45 vote.

President Trump nominated the U.S. Naval Academy graduate in February, calling him the “embodiment of the American dream,” in a Truth Social post.

Yet, Navy Secretary John Phelan may attempt to limit Cao in his new role in order to centralize his own authority, Politico reported in July. Two top aides who would have helped Cao once confirmed were reassigned, and Phelan and his chief of staff, Jon Harrison, plan to interview all potential military assistants for Cao themselves, according to the publication.

In his June Senate confirmation hearing, Cao vowed in a written statement to deliver “the most lethal Navy and Marine Corps the world has ever seen” to combatant commanders and wrote of his experience programming the Navy’s budget from within the Pentagon.

“I saw firsthand the breakdown of our acquisition process which precludes us from outpacing our enemies,” Cao wrote.

Cao ran against incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) for the Virginia Senate seat in 2024, and ran for Virginia’s 10th congressional district in 2022, losing both races.