By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
Washington (AP)-The Senate has confirmed that Lieutenant-General Dan “Razin” Caine, the Razin-Rédée-Rédée-Rédéeral “Lieutenant-General of the retired Air Force, became the next president of the chiefs of the staff on Friday, filling the post nearly two months after President Donald Trump dismissed his predecessor.
Trump appointed Caine to become the first American military officer in February after having abruptly dismissed General CQ Brown Jr., the second black general to serve as president, as part of the campaign of his republican administration to rid the army of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. The Senate confirmed Caine 60-25 during a night vote before returning home for a two-week recreation.
Caine is a decorated F-16 combat driver that has served in leadership in several special operations orders, in some of the most classified programs in the Pentagon and in the CIA. But he does not meet the prerequisites for the employment set out in a 1986 law, such as being a combat commander or a department head. These requirements can be canceled by the president if there is a determination that “such action is necessary in the national interest”.
Caine’s confirmation in the middle of the night, just before leaving the city of the Senate, intervenes when the Republicans quickly advanced Trump’s candidates and the Democrats tried to delay the process and show that they are fighting against Trump’s politics. The head of the majority of the Senate, John Thune, RS.D., set up the vote early in the morning after the Democrats opposed to accelerate procedural votes on the appointment.
The Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, voted against Caine’s confirmation, affirming in a statement that “I remain indignant” about the dismissal of Brown and that he is skeptical about Trump’s intentions in the appointment of Caine.
“General Caine served our nation with distinction in the Air Force and the National Air Guard, including on several combat deployments,” said Schumer. “Now, as the first military advisor in our country, I hope that he will continue to fight for the needs of our soldiers, to tell the truth in power and to resist Donald Trump when he was wrong.”
However, the vote was bipartite, with 15 democrats and the independent Senator Angus King of Maine voted in support of the appointment of Caine.
At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Caine said he would be frank in his advice to Trump and swore to be apolitical. Caine challenged Trump’s story that Caine wore a hat “Make America Great Again” when the two met for the first time.
“I have never worn political goods,” he said.
When he was asked how he would react if he was ordered to ask the soldiers to do something potentially illegal, as being used against civilians in national police, he told the senators that it was “duty and the work that I have to repel.
Trump’s relationship with Caine dates back to his first administration. They met during a trip to Iraq, as Trump told in a 2019 speech. He said that Caine is “a real general, not a television general”.
During his first mandate, Trump’s relationship with General de l’Évé, General Mark Milley, embittered while Cany has pushed and took measures to try to prevent what he saw as an attempt to politicize the office. Many will remind the members of the military service that they were sworn in to the constitution, not to a president.
In the hours following the inauguration of Trump in January, the portrait of Many as president of the joint chiefs was removed from the Pentagon. The security authorization and Safety Details of Manye have also been dismissed.
The writers of the associated press Lolita Baldor and Tara Copp contributed to this report.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
