Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made headlines Monday after swiftly shutting down a reporter’s question regarding President Donald Trump’s nomination of Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to replace General Charles “CQ” Brown as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The exchange took place at the Pentagon during a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman.
During the press briefing, a reporter challenged Hegseth on Caine’s qualifications, asking, “Why did you select an underqualified retired lieutenant general to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?”
Hegseth wasted no time dismissing the premise of the question. “I’m going to choose to reject your unqualified question. Who’s next?” he responded, moving on to the next topic.
President Trump announced his decision to replace Brown and nominate Caine as his successor on Friday.
The announcement was made on Truth Social, where Trump thanked Brown for his four decades of service before introducing his choice for the next leader of the Joint Chiefs.
“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Trump wrote.
Trump praised Caine’s qualifications, highlighting his role in dismantling the ISIS caliphate during Trump’s first term.
“General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience,” Trump stated.
Trump credited Caine for the rapid defeat of ISIS, a mission that many military leaders had predicted would take years.
“Many so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered,” Trump said.
Trump’s announcement also took aim at the previous administration, noting that despite Caine’s extensive military credentials, he was overlooked for promotion under President Joe Biden.