Red tape, not his controversial past, could sink Trump's Navy nominee

The biggest obstacle to Hung Cao's nomination to lead the Navy isn't his incendiary campaign rhetoric or MAGA stance on national security.

It's paperwork.

Cao — known for insisting the Pentagon recruit people who want "to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds" — is a Trump loyalist and former officer who has served as acting Navy secretary since April.

But he also retired from the service in 2021, and federal law requires a seven-year waiting period before former military officers can take several top civilian Pentagon jobs. Cao needs a waiver, and with Congress largely absent until after the midterms, it will take months.

That's before lawmakers interrogate his past.

"The bigger issue is just time," said Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who chairs the House Armed Services Committee.

The rule is intended to reinforce civilian control of the military, and ensure the line between military and non-serving leadership does not blur. It has come up previously, including with Defense Secretaries Jim Mattis and Lloyd Austin, when Congress passed a waiver.

But that was at the start of an administration. With only a handful of legislative days left before the midterm elections — and a fraught lame duck after that — the White House and congressional Republicans have a small window to fast-track Cao's confirmation.

A waiver also means the House gets involved, giving lawmakers rare veto power over a senior personnel pick. And top House Republicans said the Pentagon hasn't even started the preliminary steps in the process.

"It can be done," said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee. "But we have to get started and get after it now."

It also would give Senate Democrats an opportunity to filibuster Cao's nomination as legislation exempting him from the restrictions would need 60 votes to advance, while nominees only need a majority to be confirmed.

The more complicated process for approving President Donald Trump's nominee would expose the service — and its acting leader — to even greater scrutiny amid an avalanche of bipartisan concerns. That includes significant strain on the fleet amid the Iran war, Trump's plans for a costly new battleship named for himself and the president's push to bring back old steam-powered technology to U.S. aircraft carriers.

The Navy has had no confirmed leader for more than four months as the Middle East conflict drags on with record-breaking deployments for the service. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

Wittman and Rogers said Pentagon officials have not broached the waiver issue with key Hill officials yet, even after Trump's public admonishment that lawmakers need to move quickly on Cao's nomination.

Some Democrats are already reacting.

"This thing should not be fast-tracked," said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee's seapower panel. "There are so many issues that are on the plate at the department. … We'll see how he measures up."

Congressional leaders will likely punt any consequential decisions — including controversial nominees, war funding and major bills — until after the November midterm elections. The Senate is scheduled to be in town for just three weeks before then. The House is only supposed to be in for one of those weeks.

The shrinking pre-election calendar and congressional leaders' hope to avoid politically toxic votes ahead of the midterms mean Cao's nomination likely won't be sorted out until later in the fall.

"This is a lame-duck issue," said a person familiar with the process, granted anonymity to speak frankly about the dynamics. "You're going to know before Christmas whether to give the votes there or not for the waiver."

When Congress passed waivers for Austin and Mattis, it took several weeks of negotiations between the parties to finalize the measures and hold separate chamber votes.

Congress had previously granted only one waiver since the post was established in 1947, allowing retired Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Marshall to serve during the Korean War. The selection of two four-star generals in just four years irked both Democrats and Republicans, who responded in 2021 by increasing the waiting period to become Defense secretary from seven to 10 years for retired generals or admirals.

Those procedural issues are distinct from the other potential pitfalls of Cao's nomination. He was narrowly confirmed as Navy under secretary in October 2025 with every Democrat present and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) opposing his nomination.

Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.), at Cao's confirmation hearing, raised concerns about his "past partisan and divisive statements including disparaging certain Navy personnel, sharply criticizing US allies and advocating for the release of convicted, January 6th individuals."

Cao, a former refugee who immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam as a child, spent more than two decades in the Navy, including deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. He ran two unsuccessful congressional bids in Virginia before joining the Trump administration.

During his 2024 Senate campaign, he claimed "witchcraft" had taken over parts of California and said military recruits should be "alpha males and alpha females" who are able to eat their own guts.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) referenced those comments in a social media post Wednesday, saying "this is not a serious person who should be leading our servicemembers, especially during a war."

Like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Cao has prioritized culture war issues. He has advocated for re-enlisting troops forced out of the ranks for refusing the Covid vaccine. In July, he dismissed calls for an investigation after a military plane flew low over a crowded beach before a Florida air show.

"No reprimands," he posted on social media. "No firings. No problem."

Jack Detsch contributed to this report.