United States Under Secretary of the Navy

The **United States** **under secretary of the navy** is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy.

Hung Cao is the 35th and current under secretary of the Navy, in position since October 2025.

## Duties

The main duties of the under secretary are:

1. **Help run the Navy and Marine Corps** – Assists the Secretary of the Navy in managing both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.
1. **Manages daily operations** – Oversees the day-to-day business, making sure the Navy and Marine Corps run smoothly.
1. **Handle budgets and resources** – Helps plan and manage the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ spending, including ships, aircraft, and bases.
1. **Develop policies** – Helps create and carry out policies on training, readiness, and personnel.
1. **Supervise major programs** – Oversees big projects like shipbuilding, research, and new technology development.
1. **Work with Congress** – Helps explain Navy and Marine Corps needs to Congress and supports budget requests.
1. **Act as Secretary when needed** – Serves as the Acting Secretary of the Navy if the Secretary is absent or the position is vacant.
1. **Coordinate with other defense leaders** – Works with other Department of Defense and government officials on national defense matters.
1. **Focuses on readiness and modernization:** Works on improving training, equipment, and technology to keep forces ready for action.
1. **Focus on efficiency** – Looks for ways to save money, reduce waste, and improve performance in Navy and Marine Corps operations.

## List of under secretaries

|No.|Portrait|Name|Assumed office|Left office|President appointed by|Secretary served under||||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1||James V. Forrestal|August 22, 1940|May 16, 1944|rowspan="2"|Franklin D. Roosevelt|Frank Knox|||||||
|2||Ralph A. Bard|June 24, 1944|June 30, 1945|rowspan="3"|James Forrestal||||||||
|3||Artemus Gates|July 3, 1945|December 31, 1945|rowspan="5"|Harry S. Truman||||||||
|4||John L. Sullivan|June 17, 1946|September 18, 1947||||||||||
|5||W. John Kenney|September 19, 1947|September 24, 1949|John L. Sullivan|||||||||
|6||Dan A. Kimball|May 25, 1949|July 31, 1951|Francis P. Matthews|||||||||
|7||Francis P. Whitehair|August 7, 1951|January 29, 1953|Dan A. Kimball|||||||||
|8||Charles S. Thomas|February 9, 1953|August 5, 1953|rowspan="4"|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Robert B. Anderson|||||||
|9||Thomas S. Gates Jr.|October 7, 1953|April 1, 1957|Robert B. Anderson Charles Thomas|||||||||
|10||William B. Franke|April 17, 1957|June 7, 1959|Thomas S. Gates Jr.|||||||||
|11||Fred A. Bantz|June 8, 1959|January 20, 1961|William B. Franke|||||||||
|12||Paul B. Fay|February 16, 1961|January 15, 1965|John F. Kennedy|John Connally Fred Korth Paul Nitze||||||||
|13||Kenneth E. BeLieu|February 26, 1965|July 1, 1965|rowspan="3"|Lyndon B. Johnson|rowspan="2"|Paul Nitze||||||
|14||Robert H. B. Baldwin|July 2, 1965|July 31, 1967||||||||||
|15||Charles F. Baird|August 1, 1967|January 20, 1969|Paul Robert Ignatius|||||||||
|16||John Warner|February 11, 1969|May 4, 1972|rowspan="3"|Richard Nixon|John Chafee|||||||
|17||Frank P. Sanders|May 5, 1972|June 29, 1973|rowspan="2"|John Warner||||||||
|18||J. William Middendorf|August 3, 1973|June 20, 1974||||||||||
|19||David S. Potter|August 28, 1974|April 1, 1976|rowspan="2"|Gerald Ford|rowspan="2"|J. William Middendorf||||||
|20||David R. Macdonald|September 14, 1976|February 4, 1977||||||||||
|21||R. James Woolsey Jr.|March 9, 1977|December 7, 1979|rowspan="2"|Jimmy Carter|W. Graham Claytor Jr.|||||||
|22||Robert J. Murray|February 7, 1980|September 29, 1981|Edward Hidalgo John Lehman|||||||||
|23||James F. Goodrich|September 29, 1981|August 6, 1987|rowspan="2"|Ronald Reagan|John Lehman|||||||
|24||Henry L. Garrett III|August 6, 1987|May 15, 1989|Jim Webb William L. Ball|||||||||
|25||J. Daniel Howard|August 7, 1989|January 20, 1993|George H. W. Bush|Henry L. Garrett III Sean O'Keefe||||||||
|26||Richard J. Danzig|November 29, 1993|May 30, 1997|rowspan="3"|Bill Clinton|John Howard Dalton|||||||
|27||Jerry MacArthur Hultin|November 13, 1997|July 14, 2000|John Howard Dalton Richard Danzig|||||||||
|28||Robert B. Pirie Jr.|October 12, 2000|June 6, 2001|Richard Danzig|||||||||
|29||Susan M. Livingstone|July 26, 2001|February 28, 2003|rowspan="2"|George W. Bush|Gordon R. England|||||||
|30||Dionel M. Aviles|October 8, 2004|May 19, 2009|Gordon R. England Donald C. Winter|||||||||
|31||Robert O. Work|May 19, 2009|March 22, 2013|rowspan="4"|Barack Obama|rowspan="4"|Ray Mabus||||||
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Robert C. Martinage (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|March 22, 2013|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|January 15, 2014|||||
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Thomas W. Hicks (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|January 15, 2014|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|March 17, 2016|||||
|32||Janine A. Davidson|March 17, 2016|January 20, 2017||||||||||
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Thomas W. Hicks (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|January 20, 2017|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|February 17, 2017|rowspan="4"|Donald Trump|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Sean Stackley (acting)|
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Thomas P. Dee (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|February 17, 2017|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|December 4, 2017|rowspan="2"|Richard V. Spencer|||
|33||Thomas B. Modly|December 4, 2017|April 7, 2020||||||||||
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Gregory J. Slavonic (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|April 24, 2020|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|January 20, 2021|Kenneth J. Braithwaite||||
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|James F. Geurts (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|February 4, 2021|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|August 24, 2021|rowspan="4"|Joe Biden|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Thomas Harker (acting)|
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Meredith A. Berger (Performing the Duties of)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|August 25, 2021|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|April 13, 2022|rowspan="3"|Carlos Del Toro|||
|34||Erik Raven|April 13, 2022|August 2024||||||||||
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Thomas Mancinelli (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|August 20, 2024|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|January 20, 2025|||||
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Victor Minella (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|January 22, 2025|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|April 16, 2025|rowspan="3"|Donald Trump|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Terence G. Emmert (acting) John Phelan|
|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|–|style="background:#e6e6aa;"||style="background:#e6e6aa;"|Brett A. Seidle (acting)|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|April 16, 2025|style="background:#e6e6aa;"|October 3, 2025|rowspan="2"|John Phelan|||
|35||Hung Cao|October 3, 2025|_Incumbent_||||||||||

## Infobox (official post)

- **post**: United States
Under Secretary of the Navy
- **flag**: US-UnderSecretaryOfTheNavy-Flag.svg
- **flagcaption**: Flag of the Under Secretary
- **insignia**: United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg
- **insigniacaption**: Seal of the Department of the Navy
- **department**: United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy
- **image**: Hung Cao.jpg
- **imagesize**: 220
- **incumbent**: Hung Cao
- **incumbentsince**: October 3, 2025
- **style**: Mr. Under Secretary
The Honorable

- **seat**: The Pentagon
- **nominator**: The President of the United States, president with United States Senate, Senate advice and consent
- **succession**: United States Secretary of Defense#Succession, 17th in SecDef succession
- **formation**: August 22, 1940
- **first**: James Forrestal
- **deputy**: Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy
- **salary**: Executive Schedule, Executive Schedule, Level III
- **reports to**: United States Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Navy
- **insigniasize**: 100px
- **flagsize**: 130px
- **abbreviation**: UNSECNAV