Trump nominates Hung Cao to serve as permanent Navy Secretary amid leadership turmoil at Pentagon
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Donald Trump has confirmed he will nominate Hung Cao, currently acting US Secretary of the Navy, to hold the position permanently, a move requiring majority approval in the Senate. The announcement caps months of turbulence among America's military leadership, most recently the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll after reported friction with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and settles one of the Pentagon's key vacant posts amid an ongoing purge of senior officers under Hegseth.
Cao has served in the acting role since April, when predecessor John C. Phelan was ousted amid disputes over Trump's "Golden Fleet" shipbuilding programme, which envisages new nuclear-capable "Trump-class" battleships. Trump praised Cao on Truth Social as a "Warfighter" and urged swift Senate confirmation, while Cao, a 25-year Navy combat veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, called the nomination the "honour of a lifetime". The appointment came despite a recent Daily Mail report detailing questionable disability claims, odd remarks about witchcraft, and racist comments attributed to Cao, and amid separate concerns over the strain placed on US aircraft carriers during ongoing conflicts involving Iran.
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In short
- Trump nominates Hung Cao as permanent US Navy Secretary
- Senate confirmation still required for the role
- Comes amid wider turmoil in Pentagon leadership under Hegseth
How this story developed
- 2 months ago Donald Trump has confirmed he will nominate Hung Cao, currently acting US Secretary of the Navy, to hold the position permanently, a move that requires majority approval in the Senate.
- 2 months ago Donald Trump has confirmed he will nominate Hung Cao, currently acting US Secretary of the Navy, to hold the position permanently, a move requiring majority approval in the Senate.
- 2 months ago Donald Trump has announced he will nominate Hung Cao, the acting US Secretary of the Navy, to hold the post permanently, requiring Senate confirmation by majority vote.
Full account
President Donald Trump has said he will put forward Hung Cao, currently serving as acting Secretary of the Navy, to hold the post on a permanent basis. Announcing the move on Truth Social, Trump described Cao as a "true WARRIOR" and said the Senate should move swiftly to confirm him, arguing that patriots of his kind were needed to keep the Navy and Marine Corps the fiercest and best force in the world. Cao responded on social media, calling it the honour of a lifetime to lead the service, and said he would continue to focus on expanding shipbuilding and defending the homeland.
Cao, a Virginia Republican, is a retired Navy captain who spent around 25 years in uniform after graduating from the US Naval Academy, including service in special operations and combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He later moved into politics, losing a 2022 congressional bid before mounting an unsuccessful challenge to Democratic Senator Tim Kaine in 2024, a campaign during which Trump endorsed him. He subsequently joined the administration and has run the Navy in an acting capacity since April, when his predecessor left the post.
The nomination comes against a backdrop of considerable churn among Trump's military leadership this year. His previous Navy Secretary, John Phelan, departed in April reportedly after clashing with the White House over the pace of its ambitious shipbuilding plans, including a proposed "Golden Fleet" of new nuclear-capable battleships. Around the same time, the Army's top officer, General Randy George, was pushed into immediate retirement, and more recently Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned amid tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, underlining a broader pattern of upheaval at the Pentagon.
Cao's elevation also comes as questions persist over the strain placed on the fleet by overlapping military commitments, including operations linked to Iran, with the extended deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier group having stoked concerns about sailors' welfare, an issue Cao confronted directly at a recent town hall with military families. His nomination must still clear a Senate confirmation vote before it becomes permanent.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The Daily Mail places far more emphasis on the wider turmoil within the Pentagon this year, detailing the departures of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and General Randy George, and gives a fuller account of the dispute behind Phelan's ousting, including an unnamed source's critical remarks about him.
The Daily Mail also reports controversy surrounding Cao himself, citing an earlier investigation into disputed combat disability claims, alleged witchcraft warnings and racist remarks, none of which appears in the Fox News account.
Fox News Digital focuses more heavily on Cao's own reaction and stated priorities (shipbuilding and homeland defence), and frames the nomination within a run of other Trump administration appointments, without mentioning the Abraham Lincoln deployment concerns or the controversy reported by the Daily Mail.
Only the Daily Mail links the nomination explicitly to concerns about carrier strain amid the Iran conflict and the USS Abraham Lincoln town hall.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters argue that Hung Cao is a strong and merited choice, bringing 25 years of Navy combat experience to a role that has lacked stability since April. They see his elevation from acting to permanent secretary as a sensible way to restore continuity at the top of the Navy, particularly as the service pursues an ambitious shipbuilding agenda that benefits from settled, committed leadership. For them, a veteran with genuine operational credibility is precisely the kind of figure who can rebuild trust with sailors and steady the department after a turbulent period. They also value that Cao appears aligned with the administration's priorities, seeing this as helpful rather than problematic when implementing significant policy change.
The case against
Sceptics contend that the nomination deserves careful scrutiny given recent reporting on Cao's past remarks and disability claims, arguing the Senate should examine these thoroughly before confirming him to a permanent post. They also situate this appointment within a wider pattern of upheaval at the Pentagon, including the removal of more than a dozen senior officers and the recent resignation of the Army Secretary, and worry that rapid turnover and apparent friction with civilian leadership may reflect deeper problems of judgement or management at the top. For these critics, the priority should be rigorous vetting and demonstrated stability in military leadership, not speed of confirmation, and they caution against normalising a churn of personnel that could unsettle service members and undermine institutional confidence.
Explained simply
Trump has announced he will formally nominate Hung Cao, the current acting head of the US Navy, to hold that job on a permanent basis. Cao has been running the Navy in a caretaker capacity since April, after his predecessor was removed following disagreements over Trump's plans for a new shipbuilding programme. Before he can take up the role permanently, Cao needs to be approved by a majority vote in the US Senate.
The nomination comes against a backdrop of upheaval among the officials who oversee America's armed forces. Several senior figures have left or been removed from their posts in recent months, including the departure of the Army's civilian chief and the dismissal of a number of top military officers by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who leads the Pentagon.
This matters because the Navy Secretary is the top civilian official responsible for the US Navy, overseeing its budget, shipbuilding and personnel decisions, and reports to the Defence Secretary. Confirming a permanent appointee would settle one of several unfilled or contested leadership positions at the Pentagon, at a time when the department's chain of command has faced unusual instability.
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