Donald Trump abruptly dismissed Air Force General CQ Brown Jr. as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, removing a distinguished Black fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a broader effort to purge military leaders who support diversity and equity initiatives.
Brown, the second Black general to serve as Chair of the Joint Chiefs, was fired just three months after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth outlined a plan to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts within the U.S. military during a podcast interview.
“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the joint chiefs,” Hegseth stated during a November appearance on The 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.”
Despite having met regularly with Brown since taking over the Pentagon’s top position last month, Hegseth had openly questioned whether Brown’s appointment as Chairman was due to his race.
“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,” Hegseth wrote in one of his books.
Brown had been widely praised, including by Time, for breaking racial barriers in the military and for his strong “warfighter” credentials. When he was sworn in as Air Force Chief of Staff in 2020, during Trump’s first administration, Brown acknowledged the struggles of past U.S. military members who were denied advancement due to their race.
“It is due to their trials and tribulations in breaking barriers that I can address you today as the Air Force Chief of Staff,” Brown said, as reported by Time.
In 2020, Trump himself had celebrated Brown’s confirmation on social media as the “USA’s first-ever African American military service chief” and highlighted that he was the one who had appointed him.
Brown’s experience as a former commander of Pacific Air Forces was also noted as making him “highly qualified to deter China and reassure allies in the Indo-Pacific,”.
“Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting, and winning wars,” Hegseth said in a statement following Brown’s dismissal, though he referred to Brown as a “thoughtful adviser.”
On Friday evening, Trump announced on his social media platform that he would replace Brown with retired Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, a former military leader whom Trump claimed had been “passed over for promotion by Sleepy Joe Biden.”
Trump has repeatedly expressed admiration for Caine, crediting him with promising a swift defeat of ISIS during Trump’s first term.
“Many so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. (Photo: Getty Images)
At CPAC in 2019, Trump recounted a conversation in which he claimed to have asked Caine how quickly ISIS could be defeated. According to Trump, Caine responded: “Sir, we can have it totally finished in one week,” though fact-checkers at the time found inconsistencies in that account.
Caine, who is white, previously served as the associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency and played a key role in Washington, D.C.’s air defense during the September 11 attacks.
He recently joined Shield Capital, a venture capital firm, which highlighted his background as an entrepreneur who “co-founded and successfully exited multiple aerospace, defense, and healthcare companies.”
Trump’s decision triggered upheaval at the Pentagon, which is already bracing for further firings of civilian staff, a significant budget overhaul, and a shift in U.S. military strategy under Trump’s America First foreign policy.
Trump also announced plans to replace five additional high-ranking officials, marking an unprecedented shake-up in military leadership.
In a statement shortly after Trump’s social media post, Hegseth provided clarification on the targeted positions, stating that the administration was “requesting nominations for the positions of Chief of Naval Operations and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff.” This move effectively removed Admiral Lisa Franchetti and General James Slife from their roles.
“We are also requesting nominations for the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy, and Air Force,” Hegseth added.
Caine’s military record includes combat roles in Iraq, special operations assignments, and positions within some of the Pentagon’s most classified special access programs. However, he lacks certain key qualifications typically required for the role of Joint Chiefs Chairman.
The 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act stipulates that a Chairman must have previously served as Vice Chairman, a Combatant Commander, or a Service Chief. However, the law allows for an exemption if the President deems it necessary for national interests.
