President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social his nomination of Hung Cao, a Navy veteran and anti-woke campaigner, to help lead the Navy.
The 45th and 47th President, who described Cao as the “embodiment of the American Dream,” announced on February 27 that he believed Cao was the right man to serve as Under Secretary of the Navy.
“As a refugee to our Great Nation, Hung worked tirelessly to make proud the Country that gave his family a home,” Trump posted, in part. “With Hung’s experience both in combat, and in the Pentagon, he will get the job done.”
Cao came to the United States from Vietnam as a child refugee in 1975. The U.S. Navy special operations officer did several tours in the Global War on Terror and served in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
The veteran reportedly left the Navy as a Captain in 2021 and subsequently won the Republican nomination for Senate in Virginia in 2024 but lost the race to his Democratic opponent, Tim Kaine. He gained attention on the campaign trail for comments he reportedly made during a debate with Kaine.
“When you are using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao said. “We need alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them, and ask for seconds.”
Cao was reportedly critical of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, calling the programs a “far-left ideological agenda,” per USA Today.
Cao responded to the President’s announcement on X, “Thank you, Mr. President. It’s time to get to work.”
Thank you, Mr. President. It’s time to get to work. pic.twitter.com/6DfHr91aTK
— Hung Cao (@HungCao_VA) February 28, 2025
Cao must now be confirmed by a majority of the United States Senate to take office.