US President Donald Trump has fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Charles Brown, and five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented purge of the US military leadership, reports "Reuters", reported News.bg.
In a statement, Trump thanked Brown for his 40 years of service. Brown himself was on an official trip when the head of state made the announcement. Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that he would nominate former Lieutenant General Dan "Razin" Kaine to succeed Brown, breaking with tradition.
The president will also replace the chief of the U.S. Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service, as well as the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, the Pentagon said. He also removes the attorneys general of the Army, Navy and Air Force, critical positions that ensure the application of military justice.
The decision marks the beginning of a difficult period for the Pentagon, with mass layoffs of civilian personnel, a dramatic overhaul of its budget and a shift in military deployments under Trump's new "America First" foreign policy.
While the Pentagon's civilian leadership changes from one administration to another, the uniformed members of the U.S. military are apolitical, carrying out the policies of Democratic and Republican administrations. Brown, the second black officer to become the president's top uniformed military adviser, was expected to complete his four-year term in September 2027.
A U.S. official said Brown was being fired immediately before the Senate confirmed his successor. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been skeptical of Brown before he took the helm of the Pentagon with a sweeping agenda that includes dismantling diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives in the military.
In his latest book, Hegseth questioned whether Brown would have gotten the job if he were not black. Reuters first reported in November that the incoming Trump administration was planning a broad shakeup of senior leadership, with layoffs including Brown.
Congressional Democrats condemned the Republican Trump's decision. "Firing uniformed leaders as a kind of test of political loyalty or for reasons related to diversity and gender that have nothing to do with performance undermines the trust and professionalism that our service members require to accomplish their missions," said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said the actions were "un-American, unpatriotic and dangerous to our troops and our national security." "This is the definition of politicizing our military," he said.