Five former secretaries of Defense have signed a letter protesting the firing by President Trump of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C. Q. Brown, demanding the Senate refuse to confirm Trump’s nominee to replace Brown and for Congress to investigate the firing of Brown and other senior officers by Trump.
Trump nominated retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to replace Brown. Caine will need a waiver from Trump on meeting the legal requirements for the chairman.
The five who signed are Trump’s first SecDef, James Mattis, Biden’s AWOL SecDef Lloyd Austin, Obama SecDefs Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel, and Clinton SecDef William Perry.
Text of the letter, released to the media on Thursday:
Appeal to the Congress from Former Secretaries of Defense
February 27th, 2025We are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s recent dismissals of several senior U.S. military leaders. We write to urge the U.S. Congress to hold Mr. Trump to account for these reckless actions and to exercise fully its Constitutional oversight responsibilities.
The President offered no justification for his actions, even though he had nominated these officers for previous positions and the Senate had approved them. These officers’ exemplary operational and combat experience, as well as the coming dismissals of the Judge Advocates General of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, make clear that none of this was about warfighting.
Mr. Trump’s dismissals raise troubling questions about the administration’s desire to politicize the military and to remove legal constraints on the President’s power. We, like many Americans — including many troops — are therefore left to conclude that these leaders are being fired for purely partisan reasons.
As former Secretaries of Defense, we call on both the House and the Senate to hold immediate hearings to assess the national security implications of Mr. Trump’s dismissals. The House and Senate should demand that the administration justify each firing and fully explain why it violated Congress’ legislative intent that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff complete a four-year term in office. General C.Q.Brown Jr. had not yet completed two years in the job. In the meantime, Senators should refuse to confirm any new Defense Department nominations, including that of retired Lt. General Dan Caine as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
President Trump’s actions undermine our all-volunteer force and weaken our national security. Talented Americans may be far less likely to choose a life of military service if they believe they will be held to apolitical standard. Those currently serving may grow cautious of speaking truth to power or they could erode good order and discipline by taking political actions in uniform. And the public’s traditionally high trust in the armed forces could begin to wither.
The United States cannot afford to have our military infected by partisan politics and distracted from its core mission of defending the nation. As George Washington warned Alexander Hamilton in 1783, after Hamilton had pressed military officers to insert themselves into domestic politics, “The Army is a dangerous instrument to play with.”
We’re not asking members of Congress to do us a favor; we’re asking them to do their jobs. We’re urging them to take George Washington’s warning to heart.
William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense 1994-1997
Leon E. Panetta, Secretary of Defense 2011-2013
Chuck Hagel Secretary of Defense 2013-2015
James N. Mattis Secretary of Defense 2017-2019
Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defense 2021-2025
Trump announced the firing of Brown and the nomination of Caine on Truth Social last Friday:
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.
Today, I am honored to announce that I am nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a “warfighter” with significant interagency and special operations experience.
During my first term, Razin was instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate. It was done in record setting time, a matter of weeks. 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.
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. But not anymore! Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military. Finally, I have also directed Secretary Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high level positions, which will be announced soon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Following that announcement, Trump’s current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced more firings:
This evening the President announced that he intends to nominate Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine, USAF, for the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council.
General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment. I look forward to working with him.
The outgoing Chairman, Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, Jr., USAF, has served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service. I have come to know him as a thoughtful adviser and salute him for his distinguished service to our country.
I am also requesting nominations for the positions of Chief of Naval Operations and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff. The incumbents in these important roles, Admiral Lisa Franchetti and General James Slife, respectively, have had distinguished careers. We thank them for their service and dedication to our country.
We are also requesting nominations 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.
– Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Per federal law, Trump will have to grant a waiver for Caine to serve as chairman as he does not meet the legal requirement for the position as a retired three star:
(b) Requirement for Appointment.—(1) The President may appoint an officer as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff only if the officer has served as—
(A) the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;
(B) the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, or the Chief of Space Operations; or
(C) the commander of a unified or specified combatant command.
(2) The President may waive paragraph (1) in the case of an officer if the President determines such action is necessary in the national interest.
A DOD statement on Caine’s nomination gave his service background (excerpt):
Caine was commissioned in 1990 and served in a variety of assignments before retiring last year. His assignments included:
Commander, Joint Special Operations Task Force – Air Directorate, Balad, Iraq, 2008.
Assistant commanding general, Joint Special Operations Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 2016-2018.
Deputy commanding general, Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, Iraq, 2018-2019.
Associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency, 2021.
From 2009-2016, Caine was a part-time member of the National Guard and a serial entrepreneur and investor.Caine has flown more than 100 combat hours in F-16 aircraft. His total flight hours are 2,800.
His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
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