Understanding the Impact: Trump's Decision to Remove Top Military Leaders

BY  NEWS BLEND 360

Updated 2:19 PM EST, February 22, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump unexpectedly dismissed Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. from his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday. This action removes a groundbreaking fighter pilot and esteemed officer as part of an initiative led by his defense secretary to eliminate military leaders who advocate for diversity and equity within the ranks.

The removal of Brown, only the second Black general to hold the position of chairman, is likely to cause significant disruption within the Pentagon. During his 16-month tenure, he focused on the conflict in Ukraine and the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Trump shared on social media.

Brown’s open support for Black Lives Matter following the police killing of George Floyd made him a target in the administration’s battle against “wokeism” in the military. His removal is the latest change at the Pentagon, which plans to reduce 5,400 civilian probationary workers starting next week and identify $50 billion in programs for potential cuts next year to reallocate those savings towards Trump’s priorities.

Trump announced he is nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as the next chairman. Caine is a career F-16 pilot with experience in active duty and the National Guard, and most recently served as the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, according to his military biography.

Caine's military background encompasses combat roles in Iraq, special operations assignments, and roles within some of the Pentagon's most secretive special access programs.

Nonetheless, he lacks the crucial assignments specified by law as prerequisites for the position, such as serving as either the vice chairman, a combatant commander, or a service chief. This requirement could be waived if the “president determines such action is necessary in the national interest.”

More Pentagon firings

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a statement commending both Caine and Brown, announced the dismissal of two more senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Jim Slife.

Franchetti is now the second high-ranking female military officer to be dismissed by the Trump administration. Trump removed Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan just a day after taking office.

A surface warfare officer, Franchetti has led at all levels, commanding the U.S. 6th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She was the second woman to achieve the rank of four-star admiral, with multiple deployments, including as commander of a naval destroyer and two terms as aircraft carrier strike group commander.

Slife directed Air Force Special Operations Command before becoming the service’s vice chief of staff and had deployments to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

He told The Associated Press on Friday: “The President and Secretary of Defense deserve generals they trust, and the force deserves generals who have credibility with our elected and appointed officials. While I’m disappointed to leave under these circumstances, I wouldn’t want the outcome to be any different.”

Trump has exerted his executive authority more forcefully in his second term, removing most officials from the Biden administration, even though many of those roles are intended to transition from one administration to the next.

The chairman role was created in 1949 as an adviser to the president and secretary of defense, to consolidate the views of the service chiefs and provide that information to the White House more efficiently without the president needing to contact each military branch individually, according to an Atlantic Council briefing by retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro. The role has no actual command authority.

Trump proceeded with his actions despite Brown having backing from influential Congress members and a seemingly cordial meeting in mid-December, where they sat together for a while at the Army-Navy football game.

The dismissal comes after several days of speculation, following the circulation of a list on Capitol Hill, which included Brown among the officers to be fired — yet this list was notably not formally sent to the Republican chairmen of the House or Senate armed services committees.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the GOP chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, did not mention Caine’s name in his statement on Friday.

“I thank Chairman Brown for his decades of honorable service to our nation,” Wicker stated. “I am confident Secretary Hegseth and President Trump will choose a qualified and capable successor for the crucial role of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

Democratic leaders in Congress criticized the firings as a direct attempt to politicize the military.

“A professional, apolitical military that is subordinate to the civilian government and supportive of the Constitution rather than a political party is essential to the survival of our democracy,” Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated late Friday. “For the sake of our troops and the well-being of every American, elected leaders — especially Senate Republicans — must defend that enduring principle against corrosive attempts to remake the military into a partisan force.”

Brown risked discussing race

Brown's future was questioned during Hegseth's confirmation hearing last month. When asked if he would dismiss Brown, Hegseth replied, “Every senior officer will be evaluated based on meritocracy, standards, lethality, and adherence to lawful orders they will receive.”

Hegseth had previously criticized Brown. “Firstly, you need to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” he stated bluntly in a podcast in November. In one of his books, he questioned if Brown was appointed due to his race.

“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made race a significant aspect of his identity, it doesn’t really matter,” Hegseth wrote.

On his first day as defense chief on Jan. 27, Hegseth was directly asked if he intended to dismiss Brown.

“I’m standing with him right now,” said Hegseth, patting Brown on the back. “Looking forward to working with him.”

Brown, who visited troops at the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, gained attention for speaking out about George Floyd's death in 2020. Though he knew it was risky, conversations with his wife and sons about the incident convinced him to speak up.

As protests swept the nation, Brown posted a video message to the Air Force titled, “Here’s What I’m Thinking About.” He described the challenges of being one of the few Black men in his unit. He recalled striving “to perform error-free” as a pilot and officer throughout his life, yet still encountering bias. He mentioned being questioned about his credentials, even when wearing the same flight suit and wings as other pilots.

Brown's path to the chairmanship was difficult — he was among over 260 senior military officers whose nominations were delayed for months by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. However, when the Senate vote took place in September 2023, Brown was confirmed with a vote of 89-8.

It had been 30 years since Colin Powell became the first Black chairman, serving from 1989 to 1993. Despite African Americans making up 17.2% of the 1.3 million active-duty service members, only 9% of officers were Black, according to a 2021 Defense Department report.

Brown's role as chairman was historic as it marked the first time both the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the Joint Chiefs chairman were Black.