Cao needs special waiver from Congress to become Navy secretary
BLUF – President Donald Trump’s nominee for Navy Secretary, Acting Secretary Hung Cao, will need a special congressional waiver because federal law requires former military officers to have been retired for seven years before serving as a service secretary, while Cao retired as a Navy captain in 2021; the waiver process requires House action and 60 votes to advance in the Senate and could delay his confirmation for months. For Navy Medicine, the extended confirmation process could prolong uncertainty at the Department’s senior civilian leadership level as the Navy makes consequential decisions about budgets, personnel, medical readiness and support for sustained operations.