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.

“There is civilian control of the military. 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. The president has the authority to remove a Joint Chiefs chairman. But doing so before a chairman’s four-year term expires is quite rare.

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.

The Department of Defense is also seeking new judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Judge advocates general are the heads of the military justice system for each military service branch.

Mr. Trump has been critical of the military’s focus on “woke” diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Some have questioned whether Gen. Brown was fired because the administration disapproved of a video he issued after a police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020 in which he talked about his experience as a Black pilot in the Air Force.

Mr. Hegseth said in an interview last year before he was nominated to lead the Department of Defense that Gen. Brown and any leader involved with the “woke” policies of the Biden administration must go.

Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., a retired four-star general who served as the 36th Army chief of staff from 2007 to 2011, said the firings of Gen. Brown and the other leaders are “extremely destabilizing.”

“When you remove so many senior leaders — especially without justifying or giving due causes, it creates huge uncertainty in the ranks and it isn’t a good thing for the military at a very difficult time,” Gen. Casey said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“These leaders were following the lawful directives of the civilian leaders of the past administration and now we are going to put leaders in jeopardy and punish them for following lawful orders from another administration?” he said. “I mean, give me a break.”

The firings come as the administration looks to cut 5,400 civilian probationary workers this week and impose a hiring freeze. It also is moving to redirect $50 billion from existing programs to Mr. 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. According to his military biography, he was most recently the associate director for military affairs at the CIA.

Democrats have condemned Mr. Trump’s military leader shake-up. They argue he is trying to politicize the military.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the firings are “completely unjustified” and a “very dangerous undermining of the values of our military.”

“They want everyone at DOD to be beholden to the president, not to the Constitution,” Mr. Reed said Sunday on ABC “This Week.” “They want everyone there to do what they are told regardless of the law.”

Mr. Hegseth said the criticism from Mr. Reed and others 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 was “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.