President Trump fired a senior military officer in the country as part of an extraordinary Friday night purge with a pentagon that injected politics into the country’s best military leadership choice.
Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a four-star fighter pilot known as CQ, became the second African-American to hold the job of chairman, but the lesser-known retired three-star air force He is to be replaced by the general, Duncanne. , when I met in Iraq six years ago, the president loved himself.
In all, Lisa Francetti ad, the first woman to lead the Navy. Pentagon staff, including; General James Sliff, deputy chief of the Air Force. And the best lawyers in the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Trump’s decision to fire General Brown in his message about True Society reflects the president’s claim that military leaders are too plagued by diversity issues, and combat to protect the country He has lost sight of his role as a force, and from his steps with the “America First” movement.
Regardless of the president’s party, the co-chief chairman has traditionally remained as the administration changes. However, current White House and Pentagon officials said they wanted to appoint their own top leaders.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses thanked Admiral Francetti and General Sliff “for their service and dedication to our country” and called for their appointment as an alternative.
Hegses did not say why he fired the judge’s supporters. However, at a Senate confirmation hearing last month, he criticized military lawyers for placing unnecessary legal restrictions on soldiers in combat. People who make tough calls on the frontline. ”
Hegseth previously said General Brown should be fired for “waking up” to military diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“First of all, you have to fire the co-headed chairman,” Hegses appeared on the November “Shawn Ryan Show.” He added that general generals involved in the DEI’s efforts should be fired. “It’s either you’re in the battle, that’s it,” he said. “It’s the only litmus test we care about.”
However, on Mr Hegses’ first day at the Pentagon, he stood next to General Brown, who became chairman in October 2023, and said he was looking forward to working with him.
However, it soon became clear that General Brown was not welcomed by Trump’s inner circle. He has not been invited to any important meetings with the president, officials said.
For Trump since 2020, it was a big turnaround when he was nominated for Air Force Chief of Staff. At the time, the president noted the historical importance of his decision to appoint the “first-ever African American military service chief,” and wrote on social media that the general was a “patriot and great leader.” I am writing.
General Brown repeatedly told his aides that he would not resign. On Friday, he was on the Southwest border with El Paso and reviewed the latest mission of the military to help Trump implement immigration orders.
Trump didn’t say in his post why he fired General Brown. “He is a great gentleman, an outstanding leader and wishes a great future for him and his family,” the president wrote.
General Brown learned he was being taken away when Mr. Hegses called him at his hotel in El Paso on Friday evening, military officials said.
General Cain retired with three stars as lieutenant general. Anyone elected to chair the Chief of Co-State by the Act, is believed to have served as a combat commander as the vice-chairman of the chairman or as an officer in the highest uniforms of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Air Force. . Marines or Space Forces.
It was unclear whether General Kane would require a parliamentary exemption. Congressional aides said the president has the latitude to choose who he wants, and the exception could be made for national security reasons.
Whether he requests it or not, he must be confirmed by the Senate.
In the past, this position has been viewed as extending to the regime as well as the military itself.
In a message about the truth, Trump said he was honored that Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin Kane” was appointed to become the next chairman of the Chief of Staff, and said he had “agreed with the idea of ”they’ve been appointed to the next chairman of the Chief of Staff.” He calls him a skilled pilot, a national security expert., a successful entrepreneur, and a “fighter” with important experience in ministries and special operations. ”
In recent years, Trump has publicly praised General Kane for telling him that the Islamic State could be defeated much faster than his advisers suggested. Details of stories that could not be independently verified changed over time. In one version, Trump said he insisted that the general would take a week to defeat the group. Another thing he said was four weeks.
Trump also ignored military guidelines that active duty forces should not wear political tools during a meeting in Iraq in December 2018, saying, “Make America great again.” “It claims to have worn a hat. General Cain told his aide that he had never worn a Maga hat.
In his post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump once again praised General Kane’s counterterrorism skills.
“During my first semester, Razin helped to completely eliminate the ISIS caliphate,” Trump said. “It took place in record time, several weeks. Many so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. Meanwhile, General Cain said it could be done quickly, and he delivered. ”
In fact, when Trump visited General Cain in Iraq by December 2018, other US officials said the final defeat of the Islamic State was only months away. However, reconstruction of Iraq will probably take years.
Trump stuck to his position as co-head in 2019 when he chose General Mark A. Mirey, General Brown’s predecessor, in which the president chose a decision he deeply regretted.
Trump has been particularly grieving about General Millie’s appeal to Chinese counterparts during the waning week of his first term. In a social media post, Trump said the law was “so bad that the punishment would have been death!”
Having loyalty as his top military adviser is now the most important thing for Trump, says the aide.
General Brown’s firing comes amid growing turmoil at the Pentagon, the largest federal agency with 3 million employees, including 1.3 million service members. Hegseth has ordered senior military and Defense Department officials to plan to cut 8% from the military budget over each of the next five years, officials said Wednesday.
In a memo issued Tuesday, Hegses said many branches of the military should submit budget cut proposals by Monday. The memo lists 17 exceptions to the proposed cuts, including military operations at the tropical border.
The decision to replace General Brown with General Cain has been made over the past two weeks and has been held rigorously within a minority group of senior management, according to two people with knowledge of deliberations.
While Hegses was in Europe last week, General Kane met with Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump. Hegseth and General Caine spoke several times, and one of the people said that Hegseth insisted on his appointment.
Reports of a list of senior generals and admirals aimed at firing went viral on Capitol Hill for several weeks, but administration officials before most senior House and Senate leaders decided to release General Brown. He said there has been no discussion.
In a statement Friday night, Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who leads the military committee (the panel that approves all military appointments), praised General Brown, but was still officially appointed. He does not mention General Kane, who has not yet been there.
“Speaker Brown thanks us for decades of honorable service to our country,” Wicker said in a statement. “I am confident that Secretary Hegses and President Trump will select qualified and capable successors for the important position of Chairman of the Co-State.”
Sen. Jack Reid, a top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, was extremely critical of the move. “The trust our service members need to achieve their mission, as a type of political loyalty test, or for reasons related to diversity and gender that are not related to performance. and erodes professionalism,” he said in a statement.
Even some of Hegses’ solid supporters in Congress warn that purges of the upper-class pentagon could cause morale.
“There was a lot of talk about the fire of the ‘awaken’ general,” North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer said at a Hegses Senate confirmation hearing last month. “I think I’ll give those men and women a chance under new leadership.”
The recent co-chief chair has been in service for four years, and the president nominated his successor months before the incumbent chairman resigned. In his first term, Trump suggested in late 2018 that General Milly would choose to take over General Joseph F. Dunford Jr. almost a year before General Dunford’s term ended. .
As General Cain retires, he must call him back to active duty for the Senate to hold a hearing on the nomination. In 1962, only retired officers were convened from retirement by President John F. Kennedy. General Maxwell D. Taylor.
It was unclear whether General Brown would remain chairman until his successor was confirmed by the Senate, or whether Vice President Christopher W. Grady would serve as acting chairman.
Trump has fired four four-star executives in the past month. Within 24 hours of the second inauguration, the president fired Queen L. Fagan, the first female officer to serve as the commander of the Coast Guard.
John Ismail contributed the report.
