The Senate voted around 2 a.m. Friday to confirm retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump plucked him from retirement to be his top military adviser.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan „Razin“ Caine is officially the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after the Senate confirmed him in the middle of the night.
The 60-25 vote happened just after 2 a.m. on Friday before the Senate adjourned for two weeks.
And it came a little over six weeks after President Trump abruptly fired Caine’s predecessor, Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., as part of a larger shakeup at the Pentagon that had many Democrats concerned. Republicans, on the other hand, pushed for Caine to be confirmed quickly.
„The Chinese Communist Party continues an expansive military buildup, and our adversaries continue to band together against the United States“, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday. „President Trump should have the expertise of the highest-ranking military officer in place without any delays.“
Caine’s confirmation makes him the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, principal military adviser to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council.
Caine is a career fighter jet pilot who patrolled the skies above Washington, D.C., immediately after the 9/11 attacks, served in the Middle East during the fight against the Islamic State and then worked at the CIA.
Despite his 34 years of military experience, Caine had not served in any of the roles legally required to become Joint Chiefs chair. The president, however, can waive those requirements if he „determines such action is necessary in the national interest.“
Caine was not well known before his nomination in February. Several officials on Capitol Hill and the Pentagon, granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, told NPR at the time that they had to Google his name.
At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Caine said he hoped to earn senators‘ trust „and the trust of the American people.“
„If confirmed, I’ll continue the traditions and standards of my oath of office and my commission as a nonpartisan leader who will always strive to do the right thing“, he said.
Caine’s career spanned the CIA, the National Guard and the Air Force
Caine served most recently as the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, a position he held from November 2021 until his retirement in December 2024.
