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As of April 22, 2026, Hung Cao is the acting United States Secretary of the Navy and previously served as the 35th Under Secretary of the Navy since October 2025. He is a retired Navy Captain, a Vietnamese refugee, and a former Republican political candidate in Virginia with a background in special operations and explosive ordnance disposal.

Wikipedia
Key Details About Hung Cao
Role: He assumed the role of acting Secretary of the Navy following the resignation of John Phelan in April 2026. As Under Secretary (starting Oct 3, 2025), he was the No. 2 civilian in the Department of the Navy.
Military Background: A 25-year Navy veteran (1989–2021), Cao served as a special operations officer and diver, with combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
Education: He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Political Career: Cao was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Virginia in 2024 and ran for U.S. Representative in Virginia's 10th district in 2022.
Refugee Story: Born in Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1971, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1975.
www.navy.mil
www.navy.mil
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Cao was nominated for the Under Secretary position by President Trump in February 2025 and confirmed by the Senate, with the President calling him the "embodiment of the American Dream

As of April 23, 2026, Hung Cao is the Acting United States Secretary of the Navy. He stepped into this top civilian role on April 22, 2026, following the sudden departure of Secretary John Phelan.
Wikipedia
Prior to becoming the acting secretary, he served as the 35th Under Secretary of the Navy, having been nominated by President Donald Trump and sworn in on October 3, 2025.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Key Professional Background
Military Career: A retired Navy Captain with 25 years of service (1989–2021).
Specialties: Specialist in deep-sea diving and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD).
Combat Experience: Deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
Notable Missions: Led the 1999 recovery team that retrieved the bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr. and his family after their plane crash.
Politics: A Republican who ran unsuccessful campaigns in Virginia for the U.S. House (2022) and the U.S. Senate (2024).
Private Sector: Previously served as a Vice President at CACI International, a major government contractor