Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao on Saturday released a video message to service members, vowing to prioritize shipbuilding just days after his predecessor, John Phelan, was ousted in a Pentagon shakeup tied to President Trump’s aggressive naval expansion goals.
In the social media address, Cao laid out three core priorities: supporting personnel, constructing new vessels, and defending the homeland. “First, we’re going to take care of your needs and make sure you can do the mission,” Cao said. “Second, is we’re going to build ships. We need the platforms we need in order to defend this country. And finally, it’s to defend the homeland. Our mission has not changed and we’re going to keep driving on with the mission.”
Cao’s appointment comes after Phelan was fired on Wednesday, becoming the first service secretary removed during Trump’s second term. Over 30 senior military officers have been pushed out under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A former U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill that Phelan’s firing was directly linked to shipbuilding disputes.
Phelan, a major fundraiser for Trump’s 2024 campaign, clashed with the president over development of the new Trump-class battleship, according to CNN. He was asked to resign after a meeting with Trump and Hegseth, when the president concluded Phelan was not moving fast enough on construction. Hegseth has pledged to replace Phelan with someone who can accelerate plans.
Trump announced the new battleship class in December as part of the U.S. Navy’s “Golden Fleet,” aiming to have the ships built by 2028. Experts have cast doubt on that timeline, citing the billions of dollars and average construction time required for such vessels. The president told reporters that Phelan “had some conflicts with some other people, mostly as to building and buying new ships,” adding, “I’m very aggressive in the new shipbuilding, and somehow he just didn’t get along with them.”
Phelan had left the door open to building ships abroad, telling Navy Times on Tuesday that “everything’s on the table,” including foreign construction. “We just need to look at it, understand it, understand the implications behind it and decide if we think that makes sense or not,” he said. That stance may have further alienated Trump, who has pushed for domestic shipbuilding.
Cao, a retired Navy captain and U.S. Naval Academy graduate, served deployments to Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Republican in Virginia. His ascent follows a broader purge of military leadership under Hegseth, with more than 30 senior officers removed in recent weeks. The turmoil has drawn criticism from some quarters; Newsmax host Greg Kelly blasted Hegseth over the firing, calling it a politically motivated move.
The shakeup comes amid heightened global tensions, including Iranian forces attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the need for a robust naval fleet. Cao’s vow to “keep driving on with the mission” suggests he will align closely with Trump’s shipbuilding push, though experts remain skeptical about meeting the 2028 deadline.
