Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the former Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired from his position by President Donald Trump despite the general’s record as a decorated fighter pilot. Gen. CQ Brown Jr. was just the second Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was replaced by an official that some say isn’t as qualified for the role.
As reported by the Associated Press, the firing of Gen. CQ Brown Jr. took place last Friday (Feb. 21), who had only been on the job for nearly a year and a half. Taking to his Truth Social platform, President Trump thanked Brown for his service.
“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. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family, Trump wrote.
Brown’s political stances seemingly contrasted with that of the Trump administration, which appears to be on a crusade against all things DEI-related and the still-underbaked theory of “wokeness” taking over American institutions despite never explaining to the masses what that entails. Brown is also part of a sweeping firing spree that includes 5,400 probationary civilian employees and aims to cut up to $50 billion in programs the administration feels are wasteful.
In Brown’s place, Trump plans to insert retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as chairman. Caine, an F-16 pilot and former associate director for military affairs at the CIA, has never held a qualifying position for the role he’s been suggested for but Trump has the right to waive the requirement.
There has been some response to Brown’s firing by Senate leadership.
“A professional, apolitical military that is subordinate to the civilian government and supportive of the Constitution rather than a political party is essential to the survival of our democracy,” Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, offered in a statement. “For the sake of our troops and the well-being of every American, elected leaders — especially Senate Republicans — must defend that enduring principle against corrosive attempts to remake the military into a partisan force.”
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