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President Donald Trump has fired the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, CQ Brown, the country's most senior officer, as part of a major shake-up of senior military leadership.
"I want to thank General Charles 'CQ' Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Trump posted on social media. He said five other senior officers were being replaced.
General Brown was the second black officer in US history to hold the post, which advises the president and the secretary of defense on national security.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said that General Brown should be fired because of his "smart" focus on diversity, equality and inclusion programs in the military.
Hegseth announced the dismissal of two other senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jim Slife.
All three top officials fired on Friday were appointed by former President Joe Biden.
Hegseth said in a statement that "under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of preventing, fighting and winning wars."
Trump said he would nominate Air Force General Dan Caine — a career F-16 pilot who most recently served as the CIA's associate director for military affairs — as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
General Brown was visiting troops on the US southern border on Friday, roughly two hours before Trump's tweet announcing his departure.
General Brown made headlines in 2020 when he spoke out about race after the death of George Floyd.
He posted a video message to the Air Force describing the pressures he had felt as one of the few blacks in his unit and being questioned about his credentials.
In 2022, as Air Force Chief of Staff, General Brown co-signed a memorandum setting out diversity goals to increase the percentage of minority officer applicants by slightly adjusting the quota for white candidates, according to Air Force Times.
Colin Powell was the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving from 1989-93.
One of Trump's first actions after being sworn in last month was to fire the Coast Guard's first female commandant, citing an "over-focus" on diversity.
In November, before he was confirmed, Hegseth said on a podcast that there were many problems in the military, including diversity initiatives, that the Trump administration needed to "fix."
"First of all, you need to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs," Hegseth said, outlining the steps he believed Trump should take.
The Pentagon also announced on Friday that it will cut its budget and release 5,400 employees on probation next week.
Meanwhile, a federal court in Maryland temporarily blocked Trump from implementing bans on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
District Judge Adam Abelson ruled that Trump's directives could violate free speech rights in the US Constitution.
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