![[Updated] U.S. Air Force Mobilizes F-22s and F-35s as Situation in Middle East Escalates](https://theaviationist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/F-22_F-35_CENTCOM-top.jpg)
Trump taps Adm. Daryl Caudle to be Navy’s next leader
The nomination follows Adm. Lisa Franchetti’s removal from her post as the 33rd CNO more than two years earlier than planned.
Adm. Daryl Caudle, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, gives a speech during the Nuclear Power School (NPS) class 2206 graduation ceremony at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command (NNPTC), Charleston, Jan. 20, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dartañon D. De La Garza/Released)
WASHINGTON — The White House is nominating Adm. Daryl Caudle, a career submariner and currently the commander of US Fleet Forces, to be the US Navy’s 34th chief of naval operations, following the unceremonious removal of Adm. Lisa Franchetti in late February.
Neither the White House nor the Navy has yet made a public comment regarding the selection, but Caudle’s nomination can be seen on a congressional website displaying all presidential nominees. Breaking Defense has reached out to the Navy and the White House for comment. During a congressional hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the move was made today.
Caudle is currently the chief of US Fleet Forces command, the Navy’s four-star operational command based in Norfolk, Va. He previously served as commander of submarine forces, deputy commander of US 6th Fleet as well as vice director for strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Staff. USNI News first reported Caudle’s nomination.
RELATED: The Weekly Break Out Ep. 7: Dramatic Moves At The Joint Chiefs
Franchetti, a career surface warfare officer and the first woman to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was removed from her post on Feb. 21 alongside Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Air Force’s No. 2 officer Gen. James Slife.
The White House at that time also removed the top Judge Advocate General for the Army, Air Force and Navy. Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kilby has been serving as the interim CNO since Franchetti’s firing.
Meanwhile, the Navy is still waiting for Congress to host a nomination hearing and confirm the White House’s nomination for its second most senior civilian, Hung Cao.
During his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, Hegseth attempted to reassure ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., that the administration was working to put the best people in each open position. He said there have been high-level talks about a nomination to fill another key opening, the head of US Cyber Command, as recently as Tuesday.
