The Senate voted early Friday morning 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 are about to leave for a two-week recess, 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.
He also stated that he would uphold US laws and the Constitution, that he was willing to be dismissed, and that he would object if the president requested him to carry out illegal orders.
In nominating Caine, Trump wrote, “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience,” and said that Caine had been “highly qualified” for promotion but was “passed over” by the Biden administration.
“But not anymore! Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military,” Trump added. “Finally, I have also directed Secretary Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high level positions, which will be announced soon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
“I expect you to pledge to always provide your best military advice to the president and the secretary of defense,” said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the committee. “Even if that advice is not what they would want to hear.”
“The Chinese Communist Party continues an expansive military buildup, and our adversaries continue to band together against the United States,” Wicker said in a statement. “It is critical that the Senate confirm Lt. Gen. Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff this week.”