Hung Cao
American politician (born 1971)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hung Cao (born 1971) is an American politician and former military officer who has served as the acting United States secretary of the Navy since April 22, 2026, and as the 35th United States under secretary of the Navy since 2025, having served in the branch from 1989 to 2021.[1] He was a Republican candidate for U.S. Representative in Virginia's 10th congressional district in 2022, and the party's nominee for the state's 2024 U.S. Senate election, losing to Jennifer Wexton and Tim Kaine respectively.[2][3]
Hung Cao | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Acting United States Secretary of the Navy | |
| Assumed office April 22, 2026 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | John C. Phelan |
| 35th United States Under Secretary of the Navy | |
| Assumed office October 3, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Erik Raven |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cao Hùng 1971 (age 54–55) Saigon, South Vietnam |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | April Cao |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) Naval Postgraduate School (MS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1989–2021 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | |
In February 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Cao to the position of United States under secretary of the Navy.[4] After being confirmed by the Senate, Cao was sworn in on October 3, 2025.[5] On April 22, 2026, he became the acting United States secretary of the Navy after the removal of John Phelan.[6]
Early life and career
Cao was born in 1971 in Saigon, South Vietnam.[7][8] His father, Quan Cao, from Quảng Trị province, worked in South Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and was assistant to the deputy prime minister.[9] Quan Cao had been an international student in the Philippines having been granted a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation, before earning a Ph.D. at Cornell University.[10] In 1975, at age 4, Hung Cao went to the United States with his family as refugees.[11] Cao spent some of his childhood living in Niger, where his father served as an agricultural specialist for USAID. He returned to the U.S. at age 12 and was a student of the first graduating class of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia.[12]
Cao entered the U.S. Navy as a seaman recruit in 1989 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in ocean engineering. A specialist in ordnance disposal and salvage diving, he led the Navy team on the USNS Grasp that recovered the bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette after their 1999 crash off Martha's Vineyard.[13] In 2008, he received a Master's of Science in Applied Physics at the Naval Postgraduate School.[14]
As an explosive ordnance disposal/diving specialist with the Navy, Cao and his family relocated multiple times for assignments. During his final major operational tour in the Navy, Cao lived near the Naval Support Activity Panama City (September 2013 to June 2016) while he served as Commanding Officer of the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center there.[15] He was then moved to a Pentagon assignment in Washington, D.C.
Cao spent over 30 years on active duty in the Navy, retiring as a captain in October 2021. His military career encompassed operational deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.[16][17] Cao earned the Command Ashore Badge, the Navy Diving Officer Badge and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Warfare Officers Badge. Cao was a vice president of CACI, a U.S. government contractor that provides services to defense, intelligence, and homeland security agencies.[18]
Congressional elections
2022 house bid
Cao was a candidate in the 2022 election for Virginia's 10th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.[19] He cited the Biden administration's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan as a reason he entered politics.[20] He was one of 11 candidates in the May 21 ranked-choice Republican primary. He won the election by about 2,800 votes over his nearest opponent, earning him a spot in the general election against incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton, who was seeking a third term.[21][19]
Cao was considered a strong candidate in a district with large populations of both Asian Americans and military families.[22] During a debate with Wexton, he expressed support for the deregulation of government across nearly all facets of life.[23] During the course of the campaign, Wexton sought to portray Hung Cao as "extreme" in comparison to the political demographics of the district, emphasizing his anti-abortion and pro-gun rights stances.[24] Cao lost the election to Wexton 53% to 47%.[25][26][27][24]
2024 Senate bid
In July 2023, Cao declared himself a candidate in the 2024 Virginia U.S. Senate race.[28][11] He received the endorsement of former president Donald Trump.[29][30] On June 18, 2024, Cao won the Republican primary by a wide margin, receiving 61.8% of the vote in a five-candidate race.[31]
During his Senate campaign in 2023, Cao said "witchcraft" had taken over Monterey, California and he did not want that to happen to Virginia.[32][33] In the same interview, Cao also said "I'm African American because I grew up in Africa, too," referring to a few years spent in Niger as a child.[34]
On June 24, USA Today reported that Cao had claimed in campaign appearances that "I'm 100% disabled, you know, because just from being blown up in combat many times." But he had not received either the Purple Heart or the Navy's Combat Action Ribbon, both of which would normally have been awarded to someone injured by enemy action. Cao declined the newspaper's request for clarification about his injuries.[35]
He advanced to the November 5 general election, facing incumbent senator Tim Kaine.[36] Kaine defeated Cao 54% to 45%.[37][38]
Under Secretary of the Navy
On February 28, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Cao to be Under Secretary of the Navy, the navy's number two position, which requires Senate confirmation.[39][40][41] On October 1, 2025, Cao was confirmed by the Senate in a 52–45 vote (with three abstaining).[42] Every Republican senator, with the exception of Lisa Murkowski, voted to confirm him, while every Democratic senator opposed his nomination, with the exception of Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Brian Schatz, who were not present.[43]
On October 3, 2025, Cao was sworn in as Under Secretary of the Navy by then-Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan.[44]
As the undersecretary of the navy, Cao was reportedly often excluded from the decision-making process by Phelan and was not permitted to represent him in meetings he did not attend.[45]
Acting Secretary of the Navy (2026–present)
On April 22, 2026, Cao became the acting United States Secretary of the Navy after the departure of John Phelan.[6]
Personal life
Cao and his wife April Lakata Cao have two sons and three daughters, one adopted from Thailand and a pair of twins,[46] all of whom were homeschooled by April.[47] The Caos live in Purcellville, Virginia,[46] and attend Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia.[48]
Military awards
Cao's decorations, awards, and badges include:[49]
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Electoral history
2022
| 2022 Virginia 10th district GOP firehouse primary[50] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | |||||||||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Hung Cao | 6,363 | 42% | 6,379 | 42.1% | 6,393 | 42.2% | 6,471 | 42.8% | 6,562 | 43.5% | 6,672 | 44.4% | 6,998 | 46.6% | 7,238 | 48.7% | 7,729 | 52.3% |
| Jeanine Lawson | 4,373 | 28.9% | 4,382 | 30% | 4,390 | 29% | 4,433 | 29.3% | 4,503 | 29.8% | 4,564 | 30.4% | 4,693 | 31.2% | 4,800 | 32.3% | 5,000 | 33.8% |
| Brandon Michon | 1,538 | 10.2% | 1,551 | 10.2% | 1,555 | 10.3% | 1,588 | 10.5% | 1,612 | 10.7% | 1,614 | 10.7% | 1,733 | 11.5% | 1,854 | 12.5% | 2,052 | 13.9% |
| Mike Clancy | 719 | 4.7% | 721 | 4.8% | 724 | 4.8% | 739 | 4.9% | 764 | 5.1% | 794 | 6.3% | 876 | 5.8% | 979 | 6.6% | Eliminated | |
| Caleb Max | 621 | 4.1% | 623 | 4.1% | 627 | 4.1% | 646 | 4.3% | 678 | 4.5% | 707 | 4.7% | 727 | 4.8% | Eliminated | |||
| John Henley | 612 | 4% | 614 | 4.1% | 619 | 4.1% | 628 | 4.2% | 641 | 4.2% | 676 | 4.5% | Eliminated | |||||
| Dave Beckwith | 308 | 2% | 308 | 2% | 312 | 2.1% | 328 | 2.2% | 333 | 2.2% | Eliminated | |||||||
| Theresa Ellis | 259 | 1.7% | 262 | 1.7% | 276 | 1.8% | 285 | 1.9% | Eliminated | |||||||||
| John Beatty | 232 | 1.5% | 232 | 1.5% | 237 | 1.6% | Eliminated | |||||||||||
| Jeff Mayhugh | 64 | 0.4% | 66 | 0.4% | Eliminated | |||||||||||||
| Brooke Taylor | 56 | 0.4% | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Wexton (incumbent) | 157,405 | 53.15% | −3.35% | |
| Republican | Hung Cao | 138,163 | 46.65% | +3.25% | |
| Write-in | 577 | 0.19% | +.09% | ||
| Total votes | 296,145 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
2024
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Hung Cao | 166,737 | 61.7% | |
| Republican | Scott Parkinson | 29,623 | 11.0% | |
| Republican | Eddie Garcia | 27,403 | 10.1% | |
| Republican | Chuck Smith | 23,603 | 8.7% | |
| Republican | Jonathan Emord | 22,909 | 8.5% | |
| Total votes | 270,275 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tim Kaine (incumbent) | 2,417,115 | 54.37% | −2.63% | |
| Republican | Hung Cao | 2,019,911 | 45.44% | +4.43% | |
| Write-in | 8,509 | 0.19% | +0.04% | ||
| Total votes | 4,445,535 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||