Hung Cao nominated as US Navy secretary

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would nominate acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to become the Navy's permanent top civilian leader.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that he could think of “no one better” for the role and urged the Senate to confirm Cao as quickly as possible.

Cao has been acting Navy secretary since the departure of John Phelan, which the Pentagon announced in April without giving an explanation. Cao was born in Vietnam, resettled as a refugee in the United States in 1975 and retired from the Navy five years ago.

In 2022, Cao unsuccessfully ran for the US Congress as a Republican in Virginia.

The nomination comes during wider turnover in senior US military posts. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation on Monday after reports of tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.