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Hung Cao (born August 3, 1971) is an American military officer who is Donald Trump's nominee for Under Secretary of the Navy, having served in the branch from 1989 to 2021. 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. In February 2025, President Trump nominated Cao to the position of United States Under Secretary of the Navy, a position that requires Senate confirmation.
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. In 2008, he received a master's of science in applied physics at the Naval Postgraduate School. 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. He 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. Captain Cao earned the Command Ashore Badge, the Navy Diving Officer Badge and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Warfare Officers Badge. Cao is a vice president of CACI, a U.S. government contractor that provides services to defense, intelligence, and homeland security agencies.
Cao was considered a strong candidate in a district with large populations of both Asian Americans and military families. During a debate with Wexton, he expressed support for the deregulation of government across nearly all facets of life. 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. Cao lost the election to Wexton by 19,242 votes.
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.
He advanced to the November 5 general election, facing incumbent senator Tim Kaine. Kaine defeated Cao by 397,204 votes.
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