Senate confirms Trump nominee for chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff in overnight vote

WASHINGTON -- The Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, filling the position almost two months after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor.

Trump nominated Caine to become the top U.S. military officer in February after abruptly firing Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the second Black general to serve as chairman, as part of his Republican administration’s campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. The Senate confirmed Caine 60-25 in an overnight vote before heading home for a two-week recess.

Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who served in leadership in multiple special operations commands, in some of the Pentagon’s most classified programs and in the CIA. But he does not meet prerequisites for the job set out in a 1986 law, such as being a combatant commander or service chief. Those requirements can be waived by the president if there is a determination that “such action is necessary in the national interest."

Caine’s confirmation in the middle of the night, just before the Senate left town, comes as Republicans have been quickly advancing Trump’s nominees and as Democrats have been trying to delay the process and show that they are fighting Trump’s policies. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., set up the early morning vote after Democrats objected to speeding up procedural votes on the nomination.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against Caine's confirmation, saying in a statement that “I remain outraged" about Brown's firing and that he is skeptical of Trump's intentions in nominating Caine.

“General Caine has served our nation with distinction in the Air Force and Air National Guard, including over multiple combat deployments," Schumer said. "Now, as our nation’s top military advisor, I hope he will continue to fight for the needs of our servicemembers, speak truth to power, and resist Donald Trump when he’s wrong.”

Still, the vote was bipartisan, with 15 Democrats and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine voting in support of Caine's nomination.

At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Caine said he would be candid in his advice to Trump and vowed to be apolitical. Caine disputed Trump’s story that Caine wore a “Make America Great Again” hat when the two first met.

“I have never worn any political merchandise,” he said.

Asked how he would react if ordered to direct the military to do something potentially illegal, such as being used against civilians in domestic law enforcement, he told senators that it is “the duty and the job that I have” to push back.

Trump’s relationship with Caine dates to his first administration. They met during a trip to Iraq, as Trump recounted in a 2019 speech. He has said Caine is “a real general, not a television general.”

During his first term, Trump’s relationship with then-Chairman Gen. Mark Milley soured as Milley pushed back and took steps to try to prevent what he saw as an attempt to politicize the office. Milley would remind military service members that they took an oath to the Constitution, not to a president.

Within hours of Trump’s inauguration in January, Milley’s portrait as chairman of the Joint Chiefs was removed from the Pentagon. Milley’s security clearance and security detail also were revoked.

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Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor and Tara Copp contributed to this report.