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Friday, Donald Trump dismissed General CQ Brown as president of the joint staff chiefs, ignoring the head of air force respected while the president seeks to withdraw from military officers who supported diversity, actions and inclusion policies.
The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, also dismissed two other high-level officers: the chief of naval operations Lisa Franchetti and vice-chief of the Air Force James Slife. Friday evening surprise layoffs were sure to shake the US military, which Trump promised to get rid of what he turned as “awakened” Dei programs.
Brown, the second black general to serve as a high -level army officer, began what was to be a four -year term in October 2023.
“I would like to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for more than 40 years of service to our country, including as the current president of joint staff heads,” wrote Trump on his Truth social platform .
“He is a good gentleman and an exceptional leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”
Trump said he would name the Lieutenant-General Retirement of the Air Force, Dan “Razin” Caine to replace Brown. The presidents generally select someone for the role that is head of service or combat commander.
Trump met Caine during his visit to Iraq in December 2018, where the officer was the deputy commander of the joint processing force of special operations during the military campaign against the Islamic State.
During a speech in 2024 at the conservative political action conference, Trump said that Caine “looked better than any movie actor you could get.”
Caine had recently retired from the army and joined Shield Capital as a venture capital partner. He had also been the best CIA advisor to military affairs, was an F-16 driver and a White House scholarship holder, among other assignments.
“Alongside secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our soldiers will restore peace by force, will put America first and rebuild our soldiers,” said Trump on Truth Social.
Trump said he also ordered Hegseth to request appointments “for five additional high -level positions, which will be announced soon.”
Hegseth said he and Trump “set up a new leadership that will focus our soldiers on his main deterrent, combat and winning mission.”
He said he also linked the best lawyers for the army, the navy and the Air Force.
Speculations on the future of Brown have been launched by the appointment by Trump of Hegseth to become a defense secretary. In an appearance in November, the former Fox News host said: “First of all, you must dismiss the president of the Chiefs Joint.”
He accused Brown of having tried to implement “awakened” policies with other generals.
With a majority in the Senate, Trump could have a wide latitude to replace the best officers.
Roger Wicker, republican president of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that he was “confident secretary Hegseth and President Trump will select a qualified successor capable for the critical position of the president of the joint staff heads”.
“President Trump, like each president, deserves to choose military advisers he knows, trusts and has a relationship with,” said Republican senator Lindsey Graham on X.
Jack Reed, the senior Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that he was disturbed by layoffs.
“This seems to be part of a broader and premeditated campaign of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth to serve talented officers for politically loaded reasons, which would undermine the professionalism of our soldiers and send a scary message to the ranks.”
The Pentagon declared earlier Friday that it would dismiss 5,400 civilian workers from next week, the first round in what should be a greater purge of its workforce.
The Trump administration intends to reduce the defense ministry’s workforce between 5% and 8%, said Darin Selnick, Pentagon manager. This would potentially represent tens of thousands of people.
