Trump fires top US military general, several other senior officers

US President Donald Trump fired the top American military general in a social media post late Friday, with the Pentagon chief announcing the ousting of several senior officers.

“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 said in a post on Truth.

Brown was on a trip to the southern US border when Trump made the announcement to oust him.

Trump said that retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine would be his pick to succeed Brown, who took his position just 16 months ago under the Biden administration. Caine, also known as “Razin,” is a career fighter pilot and was recently the associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Caine served key roles in Iraq, and Trump touted him as being “instrumental” in defeating ISIS.

“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,” Trump said, echoing comments he made earlier in the week during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute summit in Miami.

Trump said that Caine was “passed over for promotion” by Biden. “But not anymore! Alongside Secretary [of Defense] Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military.”

In a statement released by the Pentagon, Hegseth said he was requesting nominations for chief of naval operations and Air Force vice chief of staff as well as for the judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force. “Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars,” the Pentagon chief said.