Report Claims Hegseth May Make A Change At Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs
Well, folks, it looks like the Trump administration is making good on its promise to clean house at the Pentagon, and the first name on the chopping block? Air Force Gen. Charles Q.
Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to two U.S. officials who spoke with CNN, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is moving forward with a plan to remove top military brass who pushed liberal policies under the Biden administration.
Now, let’s put this in perspective. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the highest-ranking military officer in the country—the senior military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council.
This is no small shake-up. But it’s not exactly a surprise, either. Hegseth has been calling for a top-down overhaul of military leadership for years, and now he has the authority to make it happen.
“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” Hegseth said back in November 2024 on The Shawn Ryan Show. “But any general that was involved—general, admiral, whatever—that was involved in any of the DEI woke [stuff] has got to go. Either you’re in for warfighting, and that’s it. That’s the only litmus test we care about.”
It’s a strong stance, but one that lines up perfectly with Trump’s vow to root out “wokeness” in the military. Under the Biden administration, the Department of Defense was given free rein to pursue left-wing social policies—everything from LGBT activism to sex-change procedures to race-based hiring quotas.
Brown himself faced scrutiny during his confirmation hearing for allegedly prioritizing diversity quotas in Air Force promotions. Now, with Trump back in office, the military is shifting gears fast, moving away from social experimentation and back toward its core mission: warfighting.
If Brown is ousted, the big question is who replaces him. CNN reports that Indo-Pacific Command leader Gen. Samuel Paparo and U.S. Central Command leader Gen. Erik Kurilla are both in the running.
Another name on the list? Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who was the first female to hold her position and a strong advocate for DEI initiatives. Given Trump and Hegseth’s priorities, it’s unlikely she’ll be leading the Joint Chiefs anytime soon.