Richard Vaughn Spencer (born January 18, 1954) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 76th United States Secretary of the Navy from August 3, 2017, to November 24, 2019.

After leaving the Marines with the rank of captain, Spencer worked in financial services for 15 years, holding positions at Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, A. G. Becker, Paine Webber and Merrill Lynch.

In November 2019, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper stated he had learned that Spencer had proposed to White House officials that, if they did not intervene with military justice proceedings against Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, Spencer would ensure that Gallagher was able to retire with his Trident Pin, a symbol of membership in the SEALs.

Gallagher had been convicted by court martial in July 2019 of wrongfully posing for an unofficial picture with a human casualty, and acquitted of six additional charges including murder.

Spencer's private proposal to the White House – which he did not share with Esper over the course of several conversations about the matter – contradicted his public position on the Gallagher case, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

I cannot in good conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took in the presence of my family, my flag and my faith to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.