Hung Cao , the former Virginia Republican Senate nominee who lost to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) last year, was confirmed Wednesday as undersecretary of the Navy despite nominal GOP opposition.

The Senate voted mostly along party lines, 52-45, for Cao to serve as the second-ranked civilian position directly under Navy Secretary John Phelan. Kaine joined with Democrats in voting against his former political foe.

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Centrist Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was the lone Republican to vote against Cao, opposition that required the chamber to consider him as a stand-alone rather than group him wi

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