As undersecretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain and former Republican Senate candidate in Virginia, was supposed to have a broad portfolio as the service’s No. 2 civilian, which included personnel issues and safeguarding the Navy’s “warfighter ethos.”
But in reality, Cao was often cut out of decision-making by his boss, Navy Secretary John Phelan, one source familiar with the situation told CNN, who said Phelan put Cao “in a box”
Cao was isolated from Navy decision making and wasn’t allowed to represent Phelan in official meetings that Phelan didn’t attend, something a
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