Washington - Saba:
US President Donald Trump on Saturday declared the dismissal of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, and the appointment of General Dan Keane as his successor.
"I would like to thank General Charles (CQ) Brown for his 40+ years of service to our country, including as the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a true gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish him and his family a wonderful future," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"I am honored to announce that I am nominating General Dan (Razen) Keane of the Air Force to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Keane is a skilled pilot, national security expert, successful businessman, and ‘warrior’ with extensive interagency and special operations experience."
In his second term, Trump has asserted his executive authority in a much stronger way, removing most of the officials left over from President Joe Biden’s term, although in typical transitions, many of those positions are supposed to move independently from one administration to another.
According to the Associated Press, his selection as Joint Chiefs of Staff was seen as key to shifting the military from two decades of war in the Middle East to focus on "potential conflict with China."
Brown's appointment was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate, by a vote of 98-0. Soon after, his name began to emerge as a possible successor to General Mark Milley, who was set to retire as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
This comes as the Pentagon is set to cut its budget by eight percent over the next five years, or about $50 billion annually, with the money being redirected to fund President Trump's priorities, as well as prioritizing drone and submarine programs and focusing on China.
According to CNN, these cuts could affect thousands of Pentagon and defense agency employees, as well as some existing weapons programs. Defense officials have already been ordered to prepare a list of employees who will be affected by the measure.
The proposal comes as members of the Government Efficiency Commission, led by billionaire Elon Musk, the organization that Trump tasked with shrinking the federal government, appeared at the Pentagon last week to outline the programs and employees affected by the decision.
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