President Donald Trump has nominated Hung Cao, a combat veteran and current acting Navy secretary, to serve permanently in the role, as the United States Navy faces mounting pressure over the prolonged deployment of one of its aircraft carriers in the ongoing conflict with Iran. Trump announced the nomination on social media, urging the Senate to confirm the "Warfighter, ASAP." Cao, describing it as the "honor of a lifetime," has been in the acting role since late April, when his predecessor John Phelan departed abruptly and without explanation.
Cao brings a substantially different profile to the post than Phelan, who had no military or civilian defence leadership background. Cao spent 25 years in the Navy as a special operations officer, serving with SEAL teams and special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and most recently held the position of Navy undersecretary. He has been a vocal Trump loyalist, championing the reinstatement of service members who refused a Biden-era Covid-19 vaccine mandate, and publicly defended a Blue Angels air show display over a Florida beach in July in which jets flew low enough to scatter chairs and tents from a crowd.
The nomination arrives at a tense moment for the Navy. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has been deployed for nine months in support of operations against Iran — an unusually long uninterrupted stretch at sea. Reports of deteriorating crew mental health and shortages of food and hygiene supplies aboard the Lincoln have prompted Democratic senators, including Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, to demand accountability from the Pentagon over conditions on board.
The announcement also comes amid wider turmoil at the Pentagon under Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a 41-year-old veteran and former investment banker known for championing drones and pushing military modernisation, submitted his resignation this week following reported clashes with Hegseth. His departure adds to a string of high-profile exits and forced retirements under Hegseth, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations, the Air Force's top general, and multiple regional four-star commanders — over two dozen senior officers in total, according to former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. "Secretary Hegseth is attempting to impose a number of culture war initiatives on the Pentagon," Kendall said, adding that the scale of removals has created "a climate of fear throughout the entire institution" that discourages candid military advice to civilian leadership.
The combination of combat-zone strain and leadership instability raises significant questions about the Pentagon's strategic direction. With the Army now lacking both a confirmed secretary and a confirmed chief of staff, critics across party lines warn that the institution is operating in a strategic vacuum at a critical moment. Driscoll was praised by both Republicans and Democrats for his cross-aisle cooperation and forward-looking approach — qualities, some lawmakers argue, that are being squeezed out of an institution increasingly shaped by loyalty rather than competence.