SEN TAMMY DUCKWORTH: Why Trump's pattern of purging our highest-performing military officers is dangerous

"Our standards will be high, uncompromising and clear." --Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Message to the Force, January 25, 2025

President Donald Trump’s pick for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General (LTG) Dan Caine (retired), possesses an extraordinary record of service—in Iraq, in special access programs and in the National Guard. There is no question of his capacity to lead, devotion to our country, character, courage or competence.

But those aren’t the qualifications required by law to be the senior-most military officer in our Armed Forces. Federal law requires the Chairman to be active duty and have served in any of three senior roles: Vice Chairman, Service Chief (except the Coast Guard) or commander of a combatant command. Caine fails to meet one of these. 

The president can waive most of the qualifications if he determines it is in our "national interest." But the only justification that President Trump has stated for waiving these legal standards in this instance is that he remembers Caine stating he "loved" Trump, would "kill" for Trump and that Caine proudly donned a MAGA hat which—as Trump gushed—would be a violation of federal law.

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Strangely, Caine has categorically denied that he ever did any of those things, which means either Caine lied—under oath—or that he told the truth and Trump has no justification.

To President Trump, the "national interest" appears to mean personal loyalty.

 The nomination of Caine is just the latest example in a dangerous pattern of President Trump purging—in multiple reckless and sudden bursts—the military of its highest-performing general officers from mission-critical roles. Why? Because they promised loyalty to the Constitution instead of to him? These firings have nothing to do with upholding high standards at all—they are about prioritizing fealty over qualifications and putting our national security at risk in the process.

The only reason this Chairmanship vacancy exists in the first place is because President Trump unceremoniously fired, without cause, General CQ Brown Jr., who was serving—and excelling—in the role.

General Brown didn’t just meet the legal qualifications to be Chairman—he embodied them. He brought his 40 years of honorable service in the Air Force to overseeing U.S. military operations in at least six active warzones and advised the Defense Secretary on responses to three tense international crises. Prior to being Chairman, General Brown served as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, commanded Pacific Air Forces and flew more than 3,100 hours with over 130 in combat.

By firing such an exemplary officer and replacing him with someone who President Trump—rightly or wrongly—believes declared fealty to him, our commander-in-chief is sending a dangerous message to the Force that loyalty, not expertise or even a commitment to upholding the law, will be rewarded.

The disgraceful treatment of General Brown was not an isolated incident.

President Trump has fired at least 10 expert senior military officers, most of whom were women or people of color, and several of whom—unlike Caine—met the legal qualifications to be Chairman.

These were warriors at the top of their game: Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s first woman to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, who had more than two decades of experience that included commanding carrier strike groups and destroyers. Admiral Linda Fagan, the first female Coast Guard Commandant, who led on all seven continents. Lieutenant General Jennifer Short, a command pilot who completed more than 1,800 flight hours during her 30-year career. Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, who was pushed out from the Defense Health Agency after her 32-year career, which included serving as the deputy for all medical operations.

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And just this month, Trump fired Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, who had a storied 36-year career including serving as the first female president of the Naval War College, as well as General Tim Haugh, the high-performing Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency.

These were all extraordinarily qualified military leaders summarily fired with Trump choosing to replace them by nominating deeply unqualified appointees—while at the same time shouting that he only hires the "best, most qualified" people.

Trump’s hiring decisions make a mockery of meritocracy, disrespect our servicemembers’ sacrifices and do nothing to strengthen our Force or our national security. Even five previous Secretaries of Defense agreed that "none of this is about warfighting."

Installing loyalists at the top of the military is the kind of thing autocrats do when they are trying to seize control of government. Trump is aiming to ingrain a culture of fear that makes it harder for our servicemembers to speak truth to power and uphold their oath to support and defend the Constitution.

 What we saw happen with the nomination of Caine is not an aberration. It is part of a deliberate purge of expertise from our military that is eroding the very institution the American people rely on to keep them safe. My Republican colleagues need to stop enabling Trump’s dictatorial tendencies and start doing more to protect the servicemembers who’ve sacrificed so much for the rest of us.