I am very pleased to nominate a true warrior, Mr. Hung Cao, as the next Navy Secretary. We need people like Mr. Hung to lead the Navy and the Marine Corps. I believe that no one is more suitable than him to ensure that our great Navy and Marine Corps will forever be the most elite and excellent force in the world," US President Donald Trump announced on the social network Truth Social on September 1 (local time).
President Trump called on the Senate to approve Mr. Hung Cao "as soon as possible", so that he "can continue the great work he has done in the past 4 months".
Mr. Hung Cao, formerly Deputy Secretary of the US Navy, holds the position of Acting Secretary of the Navy after former Secretary John Phelan was dismissed in April. President Trump confirmed that Mr. Phelan was involved in conflicts with others at the Pentagon, "mainly about building and buying new ships".
Mr. Hung Cao graduated from the US Naval Academy, has served 25 years in the US Navy as a special operations officer, and has been side by side with SEAL teams and special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The nomination information was released after a series of senior personnel changes in the US military, as Secretary Hegseth continued to reshape the Pentagon to suit the White House's priorities.
The position of US Navy Secretary was established in 1798, as the head of the Navy - the agency that manages both the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. This is one of the civilian positions with the greatest direct influence on the global military strength of the United States.
Although bearing the title of "Minister", the person holding this position is not a general and does not directly command the combat. Instead, this official plays the role of managing, policy-making and managing the entire system. After the defense reform in 1949, this position was no longer an independent cabinet member but operated under the Minister of Defense's authority, but the scope of power still covered almost all activities of the US Navy.
The Navy Secretary is the operator of both the US Navy and Marine Corps systems. According to law and official documents, the person holding this position is responsible for organizing, training and maintaining the force; managing the defense budget under the Navy Department; supervising shipbuilding activities, weapons and technology development; building military policy in accordance with national strategy.
The budget managed by the Navy Minister usually amounts to hundreds of billions of USD per year, equivalent to the economic scale of many small countries. This makes this position not only of military significance but also directly related to the defense industry and economy.
In the context of modern competition, the US Navy Secretary has a great influence on the development programs of aircraft carriers, submarines, unmanned weapons and artificial intelligence - factors that shape the future of naval power.
