President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, September 1, that he is nominating Hung Cao to become the next US Navy secretary.
Cao is married to April Lakata Cao, and the two have two sons and three daughters – one adopted from Thailand and a pair of twins, all of them homeschooled by April. The family lives in Purcellville, Virginia and attends Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. Cao’s reported net worth is estimated to be between $366,000 and $865,000 based on government financial disclosures.
Earlier reporting noted: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he plans to nominate Hung Cao to become the next US Navy secretary.
The Senate needs to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP, so he can continue the fantastic work he has been doing over the past 4 months. Cao has been serving as the acting United States secretary of the navy since April 2026 and as the 35th United States Under Secretary of the Navy from October 2025. He ran as the Republican nominee for Virginia’s 10th congressional district in 2022 and for the U.S. Senate in 2024.
“I am pleased to nominate a true WARRIOR, Hung Cao, to become the next Secretary of the Navy. We need Patriots like Hung leading our Navy and Marine Corps, and I can think of no one better than him to make sure our Great Navy and Marine Corps remain the FIERCEST and BEST Force the World has ever seen. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he wrote on Truth Social .
