White House sends Cao’s SECNAV nomination to Senate

The Honorable Hung Cao, Acting Secretary of the Navy, delivers his remarks during the commissioning ceremony for USS Idaho (SSN 799) at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn. on April 25, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by John Narewski)

WASHINGTON — The White House has sent Hung Cao’s nomination to serve as Secretary of the Navy to the Senate, along with other Navy leaders’ nominations, according to a White House release .

President Donald Trump announced earlier this month his plans to nominate Cao, who previously served as Under Secretary of the Navy , to the post. Cao has served as Acting Secretary of the Navy since April, following the departure of former Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.

“I am pleased to nominate a true WARRIOR, Hung Cao, to become the next Secretary of the Navy,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sept. 1. “We need Patriots like Hung leading our Navy and Marine Corps, and I can think of no one better than him to make sure our Great Navy and Marine Corps remain the FIERCEST and BEST Force the World has ever seen. The Senate needs to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP, so he can continue the fantastic work he has been doing over the past 4 months.”

Cao first enlisted in the Navy as a seaman recruit in 1989, before graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1996. He completed deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, totaling more than 20 years as a naval officer before retiring in 2021 from the service as a captain.

As a result, Cao will need a House and Senate waiver to serve as Secretary of the Navy, since US service secretaries are required to have been retired for at least seven years.

After Cao’s retirement, he became a vice president and client executive at CACI International. Additionally, he ran for Virginia’s 10th congressional seat in 2022, and challenged Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, in 2024. He lost both races.

Likewise, the White House has also sent nominations over to the Senate for William Toti to serve as undersecretary of the Navy, and for retired Vice Adm. Richard Breckenridge as an assistant secretary of the Navy.

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The Navy announced in May that Toti, who previously served as a senior advisor to Deputy Secretary of Defense Steven Feinberg, had started performing the duties of the Navy’s number two civilian. Likewise, the Navy announced in June it had selected Breckenridge to serve as a senior shipbuilding advisor.

2026年4月25日，美国海军代理部长洪曹阁下在康涅狄格州格罗顿新伦敦海军潜艇基地举行的“爱达荷”号（SSN 799）核潜艇服役仪式上发表讲话。（美国海军约翰·纳雷夫斯基摄）

华盛顿——白宫发布消息称，白宫已将洪曹的海军部长提名以及其他海军领导人的提名提交参议院审议。

本月初，唐纳德·特朗普总统宣布计划提名曾任海军部副部长的曹国担任海军部长一职。自前海军部长约翰·费兰于今年4月离任以来，曹国一直担任代理海军部长。

“我很高兴提名真正的战士洪曹担任下一任海军部长，”特朗普9月1日在Truth Social上发帖说。“我们需要像洪曹这样的爱国者领导我们的海军和海军陆战队，我认为没有人比他更适合确保我们伟大的海军和海军陆战队继续保持世界最强悍、最优秀的部队地位。参议院需要尽快确认这位战士的任命，以便他能够继续过去四个月以来所做的出色工作。”

曹于 1989 年首次以水兵新兵身份加入海军，1996 年毕业于美国海军学院。他曾被派往伊拉克、阿富汗和索马里执行任务，在海军服役超过 20 年，于 2021 年以海军上校军衔退役。

因此，曹需要获得众议院和参议院的豁免才能担任海军部长，因为美国各军种部长必须至少退休七年。

曹退休后，他成为CACI国际公司的副总裁兼客户主管。此外，他还在2022年竞选弗吉尼亚州第十选区国会众议员席位，并在2024年挑战了民主党籍的弗吉尼亚州参议员蒂姆·凯恩。两次竞选他都落败了。

同样，白宫​​也向参议院提交了威廉·托蒂担任海军副部长和退役海军中将理查德·布雷肯里奇担任海军助理部长的提名。

物理人工智能有所不同，它改变了防御系统的设计方式。

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海军于5月宣布，此前担任国防部副部长史蒂文·范伯格高级顾问的托蒂已开始履行海军二号文职人员的职责。同样，海军于6月宣布，已选定布雷肯里奇担任高级造船顾问。