Trump Nominee for Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Confirmed in Overnight Senate Vote

Lawmakers confirmed retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, a decorated F-16 combat pilot who has served in leadership roles in multiple special operations commands.

Retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, President Donald Trump’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testifies during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on April 1, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Senate voted in the early hours of Friday to confirm President Donald Trump’s choice for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.

Lawmakers confirmed Caine, 60–25, in an overnight vote before heading home for a two-week recess, capping a turbulent nomination process that began in February, when President Donald Trump proposed Caine as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after abruptly firing his predecessor, Gen. Charles Q. Brown.

His confirmation effectively brings him back out of retirement after he concluded his military service in December 2024.

According to his official biography, Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who has served in leadership roles in multiple special operations commands. He was also a member of the White House staff and previously worked as associate director for military affairs at the CIA.

More recently, Caine served as the director of special programs and the Department of Defense Special Access Program Central Office at the Pentagon, where he served as the principal staff assistant and adviser to the secretary of defense for all programs under special access controls.

As a command pilot, he logged more than 2,800 hours in the F-16, including more than 150 combat hours, though he does not meet the prerequisites for the job of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff laid out in a 1986 law, such as being a combatant commander or service chief.

Those requirements can be waived by the president if there is a determination that “such action is necessary in the national interest.”

At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month, Caine said he would be candid in his advice to Trump and vowed to be apolitical. He also agreed not to work for any major defense contractors or companies impacted by his official actions after his term as Joint Chiefs of Staff is up.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) set up the early morning April 11 vote after Democrats blocked an attempt to fast-track procedural steps on the nomination in protest of Trump’s recent firings.

Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), had expressed concerns about the 56-year-old’s confirmation and questioned Brown’s swift firing, as well as the removal of other top Pentagon officials, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Gen. James Slife.

Caine was ultimately confirmed with some bipartisan support.

As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Caine will hold the nation’s highest-ranking military position and serve as the principal military adviser to the president, secretary of defense, and National Security Council.

Trump’s relationship with Caine dates back to his first administration. The two met during a trip to Iraq, according to Trump.

In a February statement on Truth Social announcing his nomination, Trump described Caine as “an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience.”

Trump wrote that during his first time in office, Razin was also “instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate.”

“Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military,” Trump concluded.

Kimberly Hayek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.