On Friday, Donald Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff CQ Brown, along with several other top Pentagon officials. Now, Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, has a question for the man tapped to succeed him, Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Caine.Quote — "will he have the ability to speak truth to power?" Senator Reed is the top democrat on the Armed Services Committee. The Trump administration says it wants a military built on meritocracy. Critics say it's building one governed by political loyalty.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Before he was even tapped by President Trump to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth laid out how he thought the incoming administration should overhaul the armed forces.
There's a chance to course correct it, but it would take the new Trump administration going after it really hard.
This was on the Sean Ryan Show podcast. And at the top of Hegseth's list?
Well, first of all, you've got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
That would be General C.Q. Brown, who was the nation's highest-ranking military officer until Friday night when he was fired. Hegseth had attacked Brown for promoting diversity initiatives in the armed services. In his book, War on Warriors, he questioned whether General Brown got the job because he was black.
On Fox News, over the weekend, Secretary Hegseth said he has, quote, a lot of respect for Brown, but that Trump had the right to dismiss him.
There is civilian control of the military. Nothing about this is unprecedented. The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team.
Other presidents have fired high-ranking generals, though none has fired a chairman of the Joint Chiefs. They serve four-year terms, often across administrations. And though they do serve at the pleasure of the president, they take an oath to the Constitution. Some Democrats say Trump's move undermines that.
I want everyone in DOD to be holding to the president, not to the Constitution.
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