This story has been updated to reflect Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jim Kilby’s statement to the the Navy, released after this story was published.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti were removed from their positions late Friday.
The Trump administration announced the reliefs in a series of messages on social media and a press statement from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Two defense officials also confirmed their removals to USNI News.
In a post on the social media network Truth Social, President Donald Trump thanked Brown for his service and announced he would nominate Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to lead the Pentagon.
“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
“I am nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience.”
In a statement to the press after Trump’s announcement, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he is now seeking nominations for the roles of chief of naval operations, held by Franchetti and the number two officer in the Air Force.
“The incumbents in these important roles, Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Gen. James Slife, respectively, have had distinguished careers. We thank them for their service and dedication to our country,” reads the statement.
An unofficial list of potential defense officials that Trump planned to remove, which included Brown and Franchetti, circulated in Congress this week, two legislative sources familiar with the list told USNI News this week.
“Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars,” Hegseth said in his statement.
Trump’s post indicated that he told Hegseth to remove Franchetti and Slife.
“Finally, I have also directed Secretary Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high-level positions, which will be announced soon,” Trump wrote in the post. .
Hegseth requested nominees for new judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force, according to his statement. Rear Adm. Lia Reynolds is currently the acting judge advocate of the Navy. She assumed the acting position when Vice Adm. Christopher French, the last Navy judge advocate general, requested retirement in December after three months in the role.
In a Saturday statement to the fleet, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jim Kilby said he will perform the duties of the chief of naval operations until a new CNO is appointed.
“The work of our Navy continues without disruption,” Kilby wrote in his statement. “We will sustain forward-deployed lethal forces that enhance the peace and deter our adversaries.”
Kilby thanked Franchetti for her service and asked that the fleet remain committed and focused, noting the Navy continues to operate in combat in the Middle East.
“We remain focused on improving lethality, strengthening our warfighters, and readying our platform,” Kilby said. “We will continue to do what the Navy does best: deliver warfighting advantage for the Nation.”
Brown began his term as chairman on Oct. 1, 2023. While the position serves at the pleasure of the president, it is unusual for the president to remove a chairman before they finish their term.
If approved by the Senate, the retired Caine will be the second consecutive Air Force general to lead the Joint Chiefs. The last time two Air Force generals served as the military’s top officers back to back was in 1978 when Gen. George Brown took the job after Gen. David Jones.
Before Hegseth led the Pentagon he spoke against diversity, equity and inclusion policies and women serving in combat roles. He specifically mentioned Franchetti in his book “The War on Warriors,” as a leader who lacked “combat experience.”
The Navy has been plagued by ship delays and recruiting shortfalls, issues the service faced before Franchetti became the CNO. The Navy failed to meet its recruiting goals for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 but met them in Fiscal Year 2024, the first fiscal year under Franchetti. Recruiting officials told USNI News the Navy met its goals after addressing roadblocks, such as delays in medical waivers, and improving staffing at recruiting stations.
Franchetti was sworn in as the Navy’s 33rd chief of naval operations on Nov. 2, 2023. She released her Navigation Plan, dubbed “Project 33,” in September, just shy of her first anniversary in the CNO role. Under the NAVPLAN, Franchetti issued goals for the Navy to meet by 2027, including a 100 percent rating fill, hitting recruitment goals and an 80 percent combat surge-ready posture for the sea service’s ships and aircraft. It’s unclear whether the next chief of naval operations will continue to follow the NAVPLAN.
While Franchetti released her NAVPLAN, she continued the overall mantra of her predecessor, the idea of “get real, get better,” a slogan created by 32nd Chief of Naval Operations retired Adm. Mike Gilday.
Franchetti joined Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan as one of the first women to lead branches of the military and the first two heads of services to be removed after President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
Fagan was relieved by then Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman on Jan. 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration. A senior DHS official told USNI News at the time that Fagan was relieved due to her focus on DEI efforts, issues with ship acquisition, recruiting
shortfalls and the coverup of a sexual assault scandal at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
“We will revive the warrior ethos and restore trust in our military. We are American warriors. We will defend our country. Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose,” reads Hegseth’s statement from his Senate hearing.
