Yesterday, in a few words released on his Truth account, President Donald Trump relieved Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, or the country’s top military officer, of his post.
Brown’s dismissal is just one of the latest, in order of time, by Trump, who with the help of the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, has set a goal of cutting 10% of the federal workforce.
“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”, Trump wrote on Truth, “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”
According to rumors in the last few hours, it was Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth who called Brown on Friday evening to tell him in person that he would be relieved of his post. The 63-year-old was the second African American ever to hold that military post, following Army General Colin Powell, who served from 1989 to 1993.
In reality, the premises for a possible dismissal of the now former Joint Chiefs of Staff were all there. As early as November, in fact, Hegseth explained that if he were confirmed at Defense he would immediately dismiss Brown, claiming that the general, in the recent past, had promoted a “woke” program.
As stated by Trump himself, it will be Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine who will replace Brown. The President described the latter as an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a fighter with significant special operations experience.
Previously, Caine served as associate director for military affairs at the CIA. He also took part in Inherent Resolve, an anti-ISIS operation in Iraq, between 2018 and 2019. “I look forward to working with him,” Hegseth said in a statement. “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.”
Brown became the president’s top military adviser in October 2023, when Joe Biden was still in the White House, and would have ended his term in September 2027. As reported by sources close to the government, the general will not be the only officer to be fired. In fact, Trump and Hegseth also plan to relieve from their posts Admiral Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, and General James Slife, vice chief of staff of the Air Force.
These layoffs, will thus be in addition to those announced by the Pentagon, which stated on Friday that it plans to cut 5 to 8% of the military’s approximately 950,000 civilian employees. The first tranche of layoffs is expected to affect the 5,400 probationary workers who are not in “mission-critical” roles.
According to early estimates, it is not ruled out that the Pentagon’s overall cuts could involve between 47,500 and 76,000 people.
