Caine’s nomination is likely to raise questions from some Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee about whether he will remain independent of Trump.
President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, will face questions from senators during his confirmation hearing Tuesday about his qualifications to become the top U.S. military officer.
Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who served in leadership positions in multiple special operations commands and in some of the Pentagon’s most classified programs. He does not, however, meet the prerequisites for Joint Chiefs chairman, although they can be waived by the president.
Caine was nominated by Trump in February, one day after the president fired the former chairman, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., in a purge of general officers whom he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth viewed as endorsing diversity, equity and inclusion in the ranks.
Caine met Trump when the president visited troops in Iraq in 2018 during his first term. Trump has told political supporters the encounter left an impression on him — and that Caine put on a red “Make America Great Again” hat at the time, something Caine’s inner circle has said is not true.
Caine has been described by former military colleagues as a deeply serious career officer who has spent the past few weeks meeting with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, said a former U.
