The retired Air Force general announced as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump after the abrupt Friday night firing of his predecessor is a respected career F-16 pilot who is described by current and former officials who served with him as a professional with a “strong moral center.

President Trump said he is nominating Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In a historic and unprecedented move, the Trump administration on Friday night fired the Joint Chiefs chairman, the Navy's top officer, the Air Force vice chief of staff, and the judge advocates general of three service branches.

Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense and a 2025 Wash100 Award winner, has announced the intention of President Donald Trump to nominate retired Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a press release published Friday, Hegseth also called for the nomination of key military positions.

In an unprecedented purge of the military’s senior leadership Friday night, President Donald Trump fired the top US general just moments before his defense secretary fired the chief of the US Navy and the vice chief of the Air Force.

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