WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Hung Cao , a Navy veteran who has launched unsuccessful bids for U.S. House and Senate seats in Virginia, for undersecretary of the Navy.

Cao retired from the Navy in 2021 as a captain. The Navy listed his military specialty as a special operations explosive ordnance disposal/dive officer. Cao was a refugee from Vietnam, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served for 25 years in war zones and at the Pentagon.

Cao during his Senate run in 2024 was crticial of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, referring to them as a "far-left ideological agenda." Trump has directed the Pentagon and other government agencies to dismantle DEI programs .

Trump, in a Truth Social media post, called Cao “the embodiment of the American dream.”

“With Hung’s experience both in combat, and in the Pentagon, he will get the job done,” Trump wrote.

Last year, A USA TODAY investigation found that Cao, during campaign appearances, had made repeated references to becoming disabled after he was “blown up” in combat, but his Navy service record does not show a Purple Heart award or the Navy’s Combat Action ribbon.

Purple Heart commendations go to troops who have suffered wounds through “direct or indirect enemy action,” and the combat action ribbon requires that a sailor “must have rendered satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in ground or surface combat engagement.”

Cao did not claim to have either award but stated in 2022 that he had been "blown up in combat many times." Four retired Navy and Army officers who reviewed Cao’s service record told USA TODAY that it was unusual for a sailor severely wounded in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan not to have received a Purple Heart or the Navy’s Combat Action Ribbon.

His record showed that he had received the Bronze Star and that he had deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Cao criticized USA TODAY on Facebook for asking about his service record and listed questions posed to him by reporters but did answer them.

The position of Navy undersecretary, the service's No. 2 civilian position, requires Senate confirmation.