Trump nominates Navy veteran Hung Cao as Navy secretary
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is nominating acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to permanently lead the Department of the Navy, amid growing concerns over the strain placed on sailors during the Iran war, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
Cao has served as acting Navy secretary since John Phelan unexpectedly stepped down in late April. A Navy veteran, Cao spent 25 years in the service as a special operations officer and served alongside SEAL teams and Special Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I am pleased to nominate a true WARRIOR,” Trump wrote on social media, urging the Senate “to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP.”
Cao described the nomination as the “honor of a lifetime to lead the great warriors of the Navy and Marine Corps team.”
His nomination comes as Democratic lawmakers raise concerns over conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, whose nine-month deployment in support of U.S. operations in the Iran war included a record period without a port visit.
Reports of deteriorating mental health among crew members and shortages of food and hygiene supplies have prompted several senators, including Richard Blumenthal and Ruben Gallego, to seek answers from the Pentagon.
Cao previously served as undersecretary of the Navy and supported the return to duty of service members who had refused the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months in office.
