Acting acquisition chief Brett Seidle to ‘perform the duties of’ Under Secretary of the Navy: Memo
Hung Cao, a retired Navy officer, has been nominated to become the under secretary, but has yet to be confirmed.
Brett Seidle (left), and Capt. Scott Raymond, Commanding Officer of the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, addressed the employees, military personnel, and contractors during the celebration of NAVFAC EXWC’s tenth anniversary at our Port Hueneme headquarters. (Photo by James Stossel.)
WASHINGTON — Brett Seidle will “perform the duties of” the under secretary of the Navy while the service continues to wait on Congress to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for the position, according to a new memorandum signed by Navy Secretary John Phelan.
The memo, dated April 15 and obtained by Breaking Defense, explicitly states Seidle, currently the acting Navy’s acquision executive, should not use the title of “acting under secretary of the Navy” and also prohibits him from taking up “statutory” responsibilities.
“A ‘statutory’ duty is one that by law or regulation may only be performed by the principal or the acting principal,” according to the memo. “Matters that involve a ‘statutory’ duty of the UNSECNAV must be referred to the Secretary of Defense through me [Phelan] with a recommended course of action.”
A Navy spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the memo.
Seidle is a long-time career civil servant whose LinkedIn page indicates he has worked at various naval warfare centers since 2000 and took up his current permanent role as deputy to the Navy’s acquisition executive in August 2024. Since January, Seidle has been serving as the acting head of that office.
Phelan was recently confirmed by the Senate as the Navy’s civilian leader. Hung Cao, a retired Navy officer, has been nominated to become the under secretary, but has yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile the service is also awaiting a final announcement from the White House about Trump’s nominee to become the next chief of naval operations, replacing Adm. Lisa Franchetti who was fired in February.
