Senate confirms Dan Caine to lead Joint Chiefs in late-night vote

The Senate early Friday morning voted to confirm President Trump’s choice to be chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine. 

The 60 to 25 vote came after Democrats, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), blocked a quick passage of Caine’s nomination to protest Trump’s Feb. 21 firing of the previous top military commander, Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr. The senators, who are poised to leave for a two-week recess, argued Brown’s removal was unjustified. 

But despite the unexplained firing of Brown, Caine had bipartisan support following a relatively quiet confirmation hearing that had no major objections to him becoming the U.S. military’s top uniformed official. The Senate Armed Services Committee, which oversaw his hearing, voted 23 to 4 to pass his nomination on to the full Senate.

The panel’s chair, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), on Wednesday urged his colleagues to pass Caine “without any delays,” pointing to China’s continued military buildup and adversaries that continue to band together against U.S. interests. 

“President Trump should have the expertise of the highest-ranking military officer in place without any delays,” he said in a statement, arguing that Caine “sailed through” the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote, “an overwhelming, nearly unanimous, bipartisan endorsement.”

The Senate’s passage of Caine’s nomination comes after Trump blindsided the Pentagon and Congress in February with the firing of seven top officials including Brown and the first female Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

Democrats argued the firings were a move by the Trump administration to politicize the historically apolitical U.S. military, seeking to fill top DOD leadership positions with those that wouldn’t dissent from his opinion. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, prior to his current position, had advocated that Brown be fired along with all other “woke” generals involved with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the building.

“It sends a chilling message about who is and who is not welcome in our military,” Warren said of the firings at a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.

Caine, however, during his confirmation hearing vowed to serve apolitically, saying that he would not become a “yes man” for Trump if voted through. He also said he would follow U.S. laws and the Constitution, and that he was willing to be fired and would push back if the president asked him to carry out illegal orders.