Capt. Hung Cao (USN ret) becomes Acting Secretary of the Navy

Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs, Chief Pentagon Spokesman & Senior Advisor to SECWAR, made this announcement on X tonight:

STATEMENT:

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.

On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy.

We wish him well in his future endeavors.

Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.

STATEMENT:

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.

On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy.

We wish…

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) April 22, 2026

Comments on the post are very excited about Cao, a Naval Academy grad and retired Navy Captain, being named the Acting Secretary of the Navy.

Other comments say Phelan had a tense relationship with SecWar Hegseth; some reference news reports that Phelan had traveled twice on Jeffrey Epstein’s private airplane.

🚨 JUST IN: Navy Secretary John Phelan did not simply depart, but was “FIRED” today by Secretary Hegseth, per Fox

His termination is effective immediately.

Undersecretary Hung Cao is now in the top role in an Acting capacity. pic.twitter.com/WxdlwiXeRe

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 22, 2026

🚨 WOW! Meet our new Acting Secretary of the US Navy, HUNG CAO — who fled Communist Vietnam

“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… pic.twitter.com/YjRJYxwoM6

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 22, 2026

FULL TEXT: WOW! Meet our new Acting Secretary of the US Navy, HUNG CAO — who fled Communist Vietnam

“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!”