Trump nominated retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John D. Caine to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff after firing Gen. Charles Q. Brown.
President Donald Trump has named retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John D. Caine to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking uniformed leader in the U.S. military.
With 34 years of military service, Caine has flown in aerial combat missions, overseen inter-branch special operations, taken on White House advisory assignments, and worked with the Central Intelligence Agency. Caine’s military career included time spent in the Air Force’s active component, as well as time in the Air National Guard. He has also worked with private business entities focused on aerospace and national security matters, including recently at Voyager Technologies.
The nomination requires bringing Caine back out of retirement from military service after he concluded his service in December 2024.
Announcing the nomination in a post on his Truth Social account on Feb. 21, Trump credited Caine—whom he referred to as “Razin” Caine—with playing a key role “in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate.”
“Many so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered,” the president wrote.
Trump opened up the chairman position on the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Caine by removing Gen. Charles Q. Brown from the leadership post on Feb. 21. Caine will first have to go before the U.S. Senate before he can take over from Brown.
Federal law states that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is generally chosen to serve a four-year term. In the event of a vacancy midway through one chairman’s term, the president may choose an officer to fill the vacancy for the remainder of that four-year term. Brown began his chairmanship in October 2023.
Federal law also states that in choosing the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president may pick from officers who have already served as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or as the chief of staff of any of the military branches, or as the commander of a unified or specified combatant command. Caine has not held any of these specific qualifying positions.
The president may waive these selection criteria on the premise that the decision is in the national interest. Still, Trump’s move to select Caine as the next Joint Chiefs chairman could invite added scrutiny during the Senate confirmation process.
“Despite being highly qualified and respected to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the previous administration, General Caine was passed over for promotion by Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump said in his Feb. 21 Truth Social post.
