According to The Wall Street Journal, and Axios, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed John Phelan after months of clashes over sluggish shipbuilding reforms and unauthorized talks with President Trump.
Phelan, a businessman with no military background who served 13 months, departed immediately; Under Secretary Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain, Vietnamese refugee, and Naval Academy graduate, steps in as acting secretary.
HUNG CAO: “Don’t come to this country and ask for the American DREAM if you’re not willing to obey the American LAWS and embrace the American CULTURE!
“We came to this country with NOTHING. We asked nothing from this country…together, we will make America great again!”
Hung Cao is a retired US Navy captain who served more than 30 years, from 1989 to 2021. He started out as an enlisted sailor back in 1989, then graduated from the Naval Academy in 1996 with a degree in ocean engineering. Later he earned a master’s in applied physics and did fellowships at MIT and Harvard.
Most of his career focused on special operations as an explosive ordnance disposal officer and deep sea diving officer. He often worked right alongside Navy SEALs and other special forces teams, handling bomb disposal, counter-IED missions, and underwater operations in tough spots. One early highlight was in 1999, when he led the dive team that recovered the bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn, and her sister after their plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard.
Cao is a combat veteran with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. He spent years disarming roadside bombs and explosive threats on the battlefield, and in his final tour he directed sensitive operations, counter-drone work, and other key tasks for special operations command. He picked up several big awards along the way, including the Bronze Star Medal and the Defense Superior Service Med
The shakeup draws partisan praise from Trump allies for Cao’s patriotism but criticism over its timing during the ongoing Strait of Hormuz standoff, where U.S. forces have seized ships and Iran has targeted commercial vessels.