Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that President Trump fired Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, because he is “not the right man for the moment.”
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Hegseth dismissed the criticism Mr. Trump has received for firing Gen. Brown and other top military leaders.
“Nothing about this is unprecedented,” Mr. Hegseth said. “The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team.”
Gen. Brown is the first Black chief of staff of the Air Force and the second Black general to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman.
Mr. Trump also is replacing the head of the Navy, a position held by Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service.
Mr. Trump has been critical of the military’s focus on “woke” diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The administration also plans to start cutting 5,400 civilian probationary workers this week and put a hiring freeze in place. It also is moving to redirect $50 billion from existing programs and shift them to Trump’s recently designated priorities.
“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,” Mr. Trump posted on social media. “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”
Mr. Trump said he would nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to replace Gen. Brown. Gen. Caine is a career F-16 pilot who served on active duty and in the National Guard, and was most recently the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, according to his military biography.
Mr. Trump’s shakeup of the military leadership has been met with condemnation from Democrats, who say he is trying to politicize the military.
“Firing uniformed leaders as a type of political loyalty test, or for reasons relating to diversity and gender that have nothing to do with performance, erodes the trust and professionalism that our servicemembers require to achieve their missions,” said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Mr. Hegseth said Mr. Reed’s response is a “total mischaracterization” of the situation.
“This is a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take,” the defense secretary said.
He said Mr. Trump ultimately concluded that Gen. Brown is “not the right man for the moment.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.