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Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, a career Air National Guard officer, is now the president’s senior military advisor.
The Senate confirmed Caine as the 22nd chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff early Friday morning.
The Senate also voted to reinstate Caine to active duty and give him a fourth star. He had retired from the military in December as lieutenant general.
Caine joins Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence), Pete Hegseth (secretary of defense) and Mike Waltz (national security advisor) former Guard officers who have senior national security positions in the Trump administration.
In addition, Charles Young, the former chief counsel of the National Guard Bureau, currently serves as acting general counsel at the Pentagon.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee applauded the confirmation Friday. He said on X that Trump “will now have the benefit of his top military advisor, and our nation will be safer for it.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who voted against Caine’s confirmation, praised Caine.
“General Caine has served our nation with distinction in the Air Force and Air National Guard, including over multiple combat deployments,” he said in a statement. “Now, as our nation’s top military advisor, I hope he will continue to fight for the needs of our service members, speak truth to power, and resist Donald Trump when he’s wrong.”
Schumer and many Democrats opposed Trump’s firing of Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the 21st JCS chairman.
Caine’s confirmation comes at a time when global advisories, such as Russia and China, continue to be threats to the United States.
During his hearing earlier this month, Caine said the nation’s first job is to “create peace through overwhelming strength, and if need be, fight and win our nation's wars."
“As we sit here now, our nation faces an unprecedented rising global risk. Our adversaries are advancing. Global nuclear threats are on the rise, and deterrence is paramount. Our national defense requires urgent action and reform across the board. We must go faster. We must move with a sense of urgency,” said Caine in his opening statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Caine brings a range of military experience to the table.
He flew F-16’s in the New York Air Guard and patrolled the skies over the nation’s capital after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as a member of the D.C. Guard. He also worked in special operations and his last assignment was associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., before retiring in December.
Caine also had a civilian career as an entrepreneur and investor.
— By Donald Lambert
