Hung Cao, Navy vet and former Republican candidate, confirmed as Undersecretary of Navy

The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm retired Navy captain and former Republican Senate candidate in Virginia, Hung Cao, as the Undersecretary of the Navy.

The vote went along party lines, 52 in favor and 45 against, with Republican Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski being the only GOP dissenter, according to the official tally. Cao has long advocated for reforming the military to focus on lethality and rebuilding the lagging U.S. Navy amid a massive Chinese naval buildup threatening Indo-Pacific security.

The confirmation comes amid the first day of a government shutdown caused by congressional Democrats refusing to authorize a continuing resolution to fund the government. The shutdown is the first since 2019.

The Undersecretary of the Navy is the number two office in the branch’s secretariat, serving under Navy Secretary John Phelan.

“Years of neglect and mismanagement have resulted in ships that cannot get underway, aircraft that cannot fly, and submarines that cannot dive because we have deferred maintenance requirements as a cost-cutting tool,” Cao said during his confirmation hearing in June. “We cannot solve the problems of tomorrow with the solutions of yesterday.”

The Secretary of the Navy’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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