Trump Guts the Pentagon, Fires Joint Chiefs Chairman

US President Donald Trump has fired the country’s most senior military officer in a politically motivated purge of the Pentagon with little precedent. 

Trump unceremoniously dismissed Gen. Charles Q. “CQ” Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff chosen by former President Joe Biden in 2023, on a TruthSocial post on Friday. 

“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,” Trump wrote. “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”

Other Topics of Interest

Trump Megaphone New York Post Calls Out POTUS Lies

In an uncharacteristic turn, the tabloid most supportive of Trump in his native city appears to be reproaching the president for claims about Zelensky that are clearly untrue.

Brown is a former combat pilot who became the first Black man to lead any branch of the military when he was confirmed as Air Force chief in 2020. The four-star general’s current term should have expired in 2027. 

As top brass of the US military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are usually insulated from the politics of administration changes – but not anymore. 

The US military, under new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, has concentrated on “weeding out” any programs or people related to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives since Trump took office last month.

Hegseth targeted Brown in public comments in the months leading up to his confirmation hearings as a possible example of how DEI policies have led to the weakening of the military – without providing any evidence to question the integrity or abilities of Brown specifically. 

“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the joint chiefs,” Hegseth said during a November interview on the right-wing podcast Shawn Ryan Show. “Any general that was involved, general, admiral, or whatever, that was involved in any of that DEI woke shit has got to go.”

Brown has spoken publically about racism and inequality in the military and the US more broadly.

Hegseth doubled down on his baseless claims about Brown in one of his books. “Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt – which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” he wrote, per The Guardian. 

In the same TruthSocial post, Trump also unceremoniously announced that he would nominate Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to replace Brown, a retired three-star lieutenant general. The president usually chooses the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the most decorated veterans in the country – those with four stars, like Brown.

Caine met Trump in Iraq six years ago and impressed the twice-impeached convicted felon, according to The New York Times. 

Five other top Pentagon officials were also fired by Trump on Friday: Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the Navy; Gen. James Slife, the vice chief of the Air Force; and the top lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The US Pentagon is the headquarters of the Department of Defense and is seen as the headquarters for American national defense. Gutting its structure and leadership could spell disaster for American security interests at home and abroad, as several politicians and observers have pointed out.