Trump did not give Browns’ dismissal, who had only been in office since October 2023 and whose regular term in termination would have been four years. The President thanked the released chief of staff for “his more than 40 years of service” on his online platform Truth and recognized him as a “excellent leader”. Trump nominated the former Air Force General Lieutenant Dan Caine as the successor.
Hegseth had pleaded for Browns’ throwing out in November. He justified this with the so-called DEI programs in the army, with which members of minorities and women are promoted and protected. “Anyone who is involved in this dei-Woken shit has to go,” said Hegseth at the time. In January, however, he said that as a Pentagon boss, he was looking forward to working with Brown.
Brown, nominated by the former President Joe Biden, was only the second African American in the office of the Supreme US military in Colin Powell (1989-93). In an emotional video that he published after the killing of African American George Floyd by a white police officer in 2020, Brown described his experience with discrimination in the armed forces.
He was often the only black soldier in his squadron, the experienced fighting pilot reported. As a black man, he felt special pressure from acting “error -free”, since after his perception they had assessed his performance lower than that of other soldiers.
Trump praised the designated successor Caine as “experienced pilots, national security experts and successful entrepreneurs”. The President emphasized that during his first term (2017-21) Caine “played a decisive role in total destruction” by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia. Trump called Caine a “warrior”.
Caine is white, like his predecessor Brown, he is an experienced fighting pilot. At times, Caine has also worked in the CIA abroad in the past few years, where he was responsible for military matters. Caine must still be confirmed by the US Senate for the post as the top soldier of the country and the most important military advisor to the President.
The previous marine commander-in-chief Franchetti was also released without giving reasons. Hegseth has not yet named a successor. The former commander of warships had initially been temporarily carried out on office since August 2022 and then completely took over in November 2023.
Trump also announced further layoffs in the army leadership. He had instructed Hegseth to submit suggestions for the occupation of five high items, the President said.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense announced that from next week it would begin with the discharge of about eight percent of its civilian employees. The first layoffs concern 5,400 employees in trial period. The layoffs aimed at “achieving efficiency gains and the ministry on the priorities of the president and the restoration of the commitment of the armed forces,” said the responsible ministerial consultant in it.
The Pentagon is the largest employer in the United States. It employs more than 900,000 civilians alone. This means that cuts of five percent would affect more than 45,000 jobs.
Hegseth had announced on Thursday that the new government (Doge) will receive far -reaching authorizations in the Pentagon. The department, founded by the Tech MultiMilliardimal Elon Musk, will work to find “unnecessary” editions and to find “the last remnants” of the programs considered primarily by the previous government.
Since taking office in January, Trump has been driving the restructuring and reduction of federal authorities at a rapid pace. His consultant Musk plays a leading role.
