Trump fires top US general in abrupt shakeup at Pentagon

President Donald Trump fired the top US general on Friday night in a move that had been expected for weeks.

President Donald Trump fired Joint Chiefs Chairman Charles Q. Brown in an abrupt shakeup at the Pentagon Friday night. In an announcement on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Brown a “fine gentleman” and an “outstanding leader,” while hinting at more firings to come. “Finally, I have also directed [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth to solicit nominations for five additional high level positions, which will be announced soon,” he wrote. The firing had been anticipated for weeks, with rumors about the impending dismissal circulating around the Pentagon. But speculation about the termination of Brown and others became more serious when a formal list was recently shared with some Republican lawmakers. Trump has railed against what he called “woke” generals and officers, and Brown was a frequent target of right-wing criticism. Many officials in the Pentagon openly wondered whether Brown would be fired quickly after Trump’s inauguration. But Trump and Brown were pictured next to each other at the Army-Navy football game in December, signaling a potential warming of relations between the two men. In his first term, Trump appointed Brown to the Chief of the Air Force, a position he held until former President Joe Biden nominated him to be the Joint Chiefs Chair in October 2023. Brown’s term was scheduled to end in 2027. Hegseth had also called for Brown’s termination. In November, just days before Trump picked Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, Hegseth said, “First of all, you’ve got to fire the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.”