President Donald Trump announced he has fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the now-former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has relieved five other leaders of their roles as well.
The president said he will nominate Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to the position, which will require senate confirmation.
“Today, I am honored to announce that I am nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Trump said in a message on Truth Social. “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience.”
Hegseth said in an announcement that he is also relieving Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, and the Air Force vice chief of staff, Gen. James Slife, of duty. He will also replace the top Judge Advocates General (JAG) for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. Wicker released a statement thanking Gen. Brown “for his decades of honorable service to our nation,” and he expressed confidence in Trump’s ability to pick a “qualified and capable successor.”
The personnel changes are the latest in a series of moves the Pentagon has made to reshape the department.
TRUMP AND HEGSETH ON COLLISION COURSE WITH SENIOR MILITARY LEADERS
Hours before Trump announced his decision to fire Brown, the department revealed it would be firing roughly 5,400 civilian probationary personnel, effectively reducing the size of the department by 5-8%. A day earlier, the department also revealed its intent to find $50 billion dedicated to Biden-era programs that could be reallocated to better match Trump’s priorities.
The president has mandated all government entities end their diversity and inclusion programs, which the Pentagon has obliged. Trump’s other priorities for the department include securing the southern border and building an “Iron Dome for America,” which would be a multi-layered air defense system for the homeland.
Hegseth said prior to his appointment to the position that he believed Brown should be fired over his support for the department’s diversity and inclusion efforts during the previous administration. Despite those comments, he gave Brown a nod of approval during his first day at the Pentagon last month.
“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” Hegseth said in an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show in November.
After the president’s announcement on Friday, he said Brown “has served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service” and added, “I have come to know him as a thoughtful adviser and salute him for his distinguished service to our country.”
