A sudden change in Pentagon leadership following the sudden exit of Navy Secretary John Phelan thrust Cao into the spotlight. Cho now serves as acting Navy secretary. The 54-year-old’s previous comments have emerged – when he said “we are losing our country”.
Cao Hong’s remarks surface again
Chao, a 25-year Navy veteran, previously made headlines by challenging Tim Kaine during the 2024 Virginia Senate race. In a campaign video, he compared Cold War-era Vietnam to the Joe Biden administration.
“We are losing our country,” Cao said. “You know that. But you also know you can’t say it. We are forced to say wrong is right. We are forced to lie.”
He also criticized diversity efforts within the military during a debate, saying: “When you use drag queens to recruit soldiers for the Navy, that’s not who we want. What we need are alpha males and alpha females who are going to eviscerate themselves, eat them and demand second place. These are the young men and women who are going to win the war.”
Speaking about foreign policy, Cao added: “My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people… But now we are borrowing $55 billion from China to pay for Ukraine’s war. Not only that, we are depleting our national strategic reserves.”
Felan suddenly left
The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that Phelan will “resign from the government immediately,” spokesman Sean Parnell said. No official reason was provided.
His departure marks the first departure of a military chief of staff during President Donald Trump’s second term, although it comes amid a broader leadership upheaval within the Defense Department.
part of broader Pentagon reshuffle
Pete Hegseth has witnessed a number of high-profile firings in recent months, including that of Army Chief of Staff Randy George and several other top generals and admirals. Previous removals include Lisa Franchetti and Charles Q. Brown Jr.
Phelan’s exit came as a surprise – just a day after he addressed Navy personnel and industry leaders at a major meeting in Washington about shipbuilding and budget priorities.
Phelan, a major donor to the Trump campaign, has no military or senior defense leadership experience before he is nominated in late 2024. He founded Rugger Management LLC and previously served as a consultant at Spirit of America, which supported defense programs related to Ukraine and Taiwan.
Who is Cao Hong?
Cao’s background includes escaping Vietnam as a child in the 1970s before embarking on a military career that included service with special operations forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. He later studied at MIT and Harvard and has been outspoken on military policy issues.
