Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao will need special waivers from both the House and Senate to be confirmed as the permanent head of the Navy, USNI News reported Saturday, a procedural hurdle that threatens to delay or derail President Trump's nomination of the former special operations officer.

Federal law requires military officers to be retired for seven years before serving as a service secretary, a restriction intended to preserve civilian control of the armed forces. Cao retired as a Navy captain in October 2021, making him ineligible until 2028 without congressional intervention.

Trump nominated Cao in August after former Secretary John C. Phelan resigned in April amid controversy over the Iran conflict escalation. Cao has served as acting secretary since Phelan's departure, but his permanent appointment now hinges on whether Congress will grant only the second such waiver since the law took effect in 1947.

George Marshall Precedent Looms Large

The only previous waiver was granted to retired Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Marshall, who became Secretary of Defense during the Korean War. Marshall's stature as the architect of Allied victory in World War II and author of the Marshall Plan made his waiver nearly uncontroversial.

Cao, by contrast, faces a more skeptical Congress. While his 25-year Navy career included deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia as a special operations officer, he lacks the institutional standing or bipartisan respect that eased Marshall's confirmation.

Politico reported that Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker expressed concerns about undermining the seven-year cooling-off period, which was designed to ensure retiring officers shed wartime operational mindsets before assuming civilian policymaking roles.

Path Forward Requires Bipartisan Cooperation

According to USNI News, the waiver process requires separate votes in both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, followed by floor votes in each chamber. With Republicans holding narrow majorities in both houses, Democratic support will likely be necessary to secure passage.

Democrats have signaled they are open to supporting Cao's waiver if he commits to specific policy positions during confirmation hearings, including a clear timeline for reducing the Navy's operational tempo in the Persian Gulf and a budget plan that addresses shipyard maintenance backlogs that have left dozens of vessels inoperable.

Military Times noted that Cao's tenure as acting secretary has been largely administrative, focused on maintaining continuity during the Iran conflict rather than pursuing major policy initiatives. Senate sources suggest this low profile may work in his favor, as it has avoided the controversies that plagued Phelan.

Navy Leadership Vacuum Complicates Readiness

The Navy has operated without a Senate-confirmed secretary for five months, the longest vacancy since the position was created in 1798. The leadership gap has delayed critical decisions on force structure, including whether to proceed with a new class of destroyers and how to allocate limited shipyard capacity between repairs and new construction.

Defense analysts have warned that prolonged acting leadership undermines the Navy's ability to advocate for resources in budget negotiations and coordinate with allied navies on Indo-Pacific strategy. With China expanding its fleet and North Korea resuming ballistic missile tests, sustained leadership is increasingly urgent.

Cao's confirmation hearings are expected to begin in late September, assuming committee leadership schedules votes on the waivers before the midterm recess. If approved, he would become the first Vietnamese American to lead a military service—a milestone in an increasingly diverse officer corps.

Whether Congress will extend the Marshall precedent to Cao remains uncertain. The outcome will test whether civilian-military norms can bend to accommodate a president's personnel priorities, or whether decades-old safeguards will constrain executive power even in wartime.