Trump fires top US general in unprecedented Pentagon shake-up

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Feb 21 fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, and pushed out five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of American military leadership.

Mr Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said he would nominate Lieutenant-General (Ret) Dan “Razin” Caine to succeed General Brown, breaking with tradition by pulling someone out of retirement for the first time to become the top military officer.

A former F-16 pilot, Lt-Gen (Ret) Caine was most recently associate director of military affairs for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mr Trump will also replace the head of the US Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, as well as the air force vice-chief of staff and judge advocates-general for the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Pentagon said.

The decision sets off a period of upheaval at the Pentagon, which is already

bracing itself for firings of civilian staff

, a dramatic overhaul of its budget and a shift in US military deployments under Mr Trump’s new America First foreign policy.

While the Pentagon’s civilian leadership changes from one administration to the next, the uniformed members of US armed forces are apolitical, serving the policies of Democratic and Republican administrations.

Gen Brown, who became the highest-ranking military officer in October 2023, had been expected to serve until September 2027.

Mr Trump did not explain his decision to replace Gen Brown or say whether he would remain in the job until his successor is confirmed by the Senate.

“I want to thank General Charles ‘C.Q.’ 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,” Mr Trump wrote.

Reuters was first to report planning by the incoming Trump administration in November 2024 to carry out the sweeping firings, including Gen Brown.

‘Politicising the military’

Democratic lawmakers condemned the decision by Mr Trump.

“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 service members require to achieve their missions,” said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate armed services committee.

Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the firings were “un-American, unpatriotic, and dangerous for our troops and our national security”.

“This is the definition of politicising our military,” he said.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Mr Trump spoke of firing “woke” generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 pullout from Afghanistan. On Feb 21, the President did not explain his decision to replace Gen Brown.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had been sceptical of Gen Brown before taking the helm of the Defence Department with a broad agenda that

includes eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military

.

In his most recent book, Mr Hegseth asked whether Gen Brown would have got the job if he were not black.

“Was it because of his skin colour? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt – which on its face seems unfair to C.Q. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” he wrote in his 2024 book The War On Warriors: Behind The Betrayal Of The Men Who Keep Us Free.

Gen Brown, a former fighter pilot who was only the second black officer to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had recounted his experiences in an emotional video posted online after the 2020 killing of Mr George Floyd.

He was on official travel when Mr Trump made the announcement. Hours before Mr Trump’s post, Gen Brown’s official X account had posted images of him meeting troops on the US border with Mexico.

“Border security has always been critical to the defence of our homeland. As we navigate unprecedented security challenges... we will ensure our troops at the border have everything they need,” he said in a post on X.

A spokesperson for Gen Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Women fired

Adm Franchetti was the first woman to command the US Navy.

Her 2023 nomination by then President Joe Biden was a surprise.

Pentagon officials widely expected the nomination to go to Admiral Samuel Paparo, who at the time led the navy in the Pacific. Adm Paparo was instead promoted to lead the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command.

On his first day in office, Mr Trump

fired Admiral Linda Fagan

as head of the US Coast Guard. She had been its first female commanding officer.

In January, Mr Trump’s Pentagon lashed out at General (Ret) Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, by

revoking his personal security detail

and security clearance. It also removed his portrait from the walls of the Pentagon.

Gen (Ret) Milley, who served as the top US military officer during Mr Trump’s first term, became a leading critic of him after retiring as a four-star general in 2023 during Mr Biden’s administration and has faced death threats. REUTERS