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.