Who Is Hung Cao, the Acting Secretary of the Navy?

Share this link on Facebook

Share this page on X (Twitter)

Share this link on LinkedIn

Share this page on Reddit

Email a link to this page

Hung Cao spent three decades in uniform in the US Navy—but is likely to face intense Senate scrutiny for past comments if formally nominated to succeed John Phelan.

Following the firing of Secretary of the Navy John Phelan last Wednesday, Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao was elevated to the role. He is now serving as Phelan’s acting replacement, with the potential for full confirmation at a future date if Trump approves.

One difference between the two men is immediately apparent. Unlike Phelan, who was a businessman and art collector with no prior ties to the US armed forces, Cao is a former US Navy officer who retired in October 2021 after 30 years in uniform. Prior to his retirement, Cao was a “Special Operations Officer” who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

What makes Cao’s story a bit more unique is that he wasn’t born in the United States—and he didn’t spend much of his youth in America, either.

Hung Cao: An American Immigrant Success Story

Cao was born in Saigon, South Vietnam—now Ho Chi Minh City—in 1971. His father worked for the South Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture, and his family were among the fortunate ones who were able to immigrate to the United States after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. However, almost immediately after his arrival in America, Cao’s family relocated to Niger, where his father worked as a USAID agricultural specialist.

According to Cao’s official Navy biography, he returned to the United States at age 12, set down roots in northern Virginia, and graduated from the highly........

© The National Interest