After Phelan's departure, new acting Navy Secretary aims to boost shipbuilding

Hung Cao, acting secretary of the Navy, spoke out for the first time in his new post. Through a statement, he thanked President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He also assured that his immediate priorities are to boost shipbuilding and ensure the defense of the United States.

Last Wednesday, the Pentagon announced the departure of Navy Secretary John Phelan, who had no prior military experience. According to the Wall Street Journal, he had been fired after months of internal disputes with Secretary Hegseth and other officials.

During a White House event announcing an agreement with drugmaker Regeneron, the president was asked about Phelan's departure, who was a major donor during the 2024 campaign: "He’s a very good man. I really liked him, but he had some conflict, not necessarily with Pete. He’s a hard charger, and he had some conflicts with some other people, mostly as to building and buying new ships. I’m very aggressive in the new shipbuilding."

It was in this context that Cao expressed himself on his new X account as acting secretary of the Navy: "I have moved out with the duties and responsibilities of the office. My immediate priorities are taking care of our Sailors and Marines, advancing shipbuilding initiatives, and ensuring the defense of our homeland."

"I remain fully committed to accomplishing the core mission of the Department of the Navy as a premier warfighting organization and providing unwavering support to our warriors downrange. The Department is thankful to Secretary John C. Phelan for his service and wishes him well in his future endeavors," he added.

A 54-year-old Vietnamese-born, Cao is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He served for more than 30 years in the Navy, being deployed to Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan.

In October 2021, he decided to retire to begin his political career. As a Republican, he ran for the House of Representatives in 2022 and the Senate in 2024. Despite failing to win either election, his candidacy against Tim Kaine brought him national attention. After an eye-catching speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention, he managed to shrink margins and garner 45% of the vote in the election, four points more than the Republican candidate who competed against Kaine in 2020.