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Retired Captain Hung Cao Nominated for Under Secretary of the Navy

Kalyna White
By Kalyna White
March 12, 2025

Retired Navy Captain Hung Cao has been officially nominated for the position of Under Secretary of the Navy by President Donald Trump. An official Trump administration X account shared a Truth Social post from the president announcing Cao’s nomination.

Cao served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years before retiring as a captain. His career included combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. His non-combat assignments involved managing the Navy’s $140 billion budget at the Pentagon and collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Following his retirement from active duty, Cao ran as the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District in 2022 but was defeated by Democratic incumbent Jennifer Wexton. He also challenged Senator Tim Kaine in the 2024 U.S. Senate election but lost. During his Senate campaign, he spoke about military recruitment challenges, criticizing the Biden administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

Born in South Vietnam, Cao and his family fled the country in 1975, eventually resettling in Virginia. He was part of the inaugural graduating class of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy, commissioning as a Special Operations Officer specializing in Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Deep Sea Diving. He also holds a master’s degree in physics from the Naval Postgraduate School and has completed fellowships at both MIT and Harvard University.

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Kalyna White is an operations and strategy professional with expertise spanning government relations, nonprofit leadership, and digital communications. She currently serves as Manager at the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC), where she oversees day-to-day operations, manages over $1 million in annual billing, supports 200+ member companies, and leads events with up to 400 attendees. She also directs the editorial and digital strategy for Homeland Security Today, where her leadership has grown the platform from 200,000 to more than 4 million annual visitors. In addition to her professional work, Kalyna is the Founder of LABUkraine, a nonprofit organization that connects Ukrainian youth to opportunity through technology and education by building computer labs with recycled technology from American businesses. Since Russia’s invasion, she has expanded LABUkraine’s mission to deliver critical humanitarian aid to frontline communities, coordinating international logistics for medical supplies, water filtration systems, and hygiene goods. A graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in Middle Eastern Studies and English Literature, Kalyna also served as President of the Panhellenic Association and Pi Beta Phi Fraternity, representing more than 1,500 women. She has been deeply engaged in the homeland security community since high school, serving for nearly a decade as Youth Ambassador and later a Board Member for Women in Homeland Security. She is passionate about leveraging operations, strategy, and innovation to strengthen organizations and create lasting global impact.

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