WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Hung Cao (R), who unsuccessfully ran for the Virginia Senate seat last year, will be the next United States Under Secretary of the Navy.
President Donald Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform Thursday night, saying that Cao is the “embodiment of the American Dream.”
“As a refugee to our Great Nation, Hung worked tirelessly to make proud the Country that gave his family a home,” Trump’s post said in part. “With Hung’s experience both in combat, and in the Pentagon, he will get the job done.”
Cao was born in Vietnam before arriving in the U.S. in 1975 as a refugee. He went on to serve in the U.S. Navy as a special operations officer doing tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
He ran unsuccessfully for Congress two years ago and then ran unsuccessfully against Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) for the Virginia Senate seat in the November 2024 election, despite Trump’s endorsement.
Cao stirred up controversy during the Virginia Senate Debate against Kaine with his comment regarding the cause of low military recruitment.
“When you are using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” he said during the debate. “We need alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds.”
