The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has voted to confirm retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, President Donald Trump’s candidate for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The 60 to 25 vote occurred after Democrats, backed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), delayed Caine’s nomination from being quickly approved in protest of Trump’s removal of the previous top military commander, Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr. The senators, who recently took another two-week recess and skipped town, claimed Brown’s ouster was unjustified.
Despite Brown’s unexplained removal, Caine received bipartisan support during a very calm confirmation hearing with no major challenges to him becoming the United States military’s senior uniformed leader. The Senate Armed Services Committee, which conducted his hearing, voted 23-4 to forward his nomination to the full Senate.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the panel’s leader, encouraged his colleagues on Wednesday to pass Caine “without any delays,” citing China’s ongoing military expansion and rivals that continue to band together against US interests.
“President Trump should have the expertise of the highest-ranking military officer in place without any delays,” he said in a statement, arguing that Caine “sailed through” the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote, “an overwhelming, nearly unanimous, bipartisan endorsement.”
The Senate approved Caine’s nomination after Trump surprised the Pentagon and Congress in February by removing seven top officials, including Brown and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first female Chief of Naval Operations.
Democrats contended that the firings were part of the Trump administration’s effort to politicize the historically apolitical United States military, with the goal of filling key DOD leadership positions with people who would not disagree with him.
Prior to his current job, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned for Brown to be sacked, along with all other “woke” generals working in the building’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“It sends a chilling message about who is and is not welcome in our military,” Warren said of the firings during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
During his confirmation hearing, Caine pledged to serve in an apolitical manner, asserting that if confirmed, he would not succumb to Trump’s demands.