Caine was confirmed to succeed former Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., with several Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for him. Trump fired Brown in February. The Democrats who had aimed to delay Caine’s confirmation expressed concern over the Trump administration’s various firings in the Defense Department, including the abrupt axing of Brown.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) argued earlier this week that Caine’s vote should not be delayed and should be held before the Senate’s recess for Easter and Passover.
Lieutenant General Caine sailed through the Senate Armed Services Committee on a 23 to 4 vote – an overwhelming, nearly unanimous, bipartisan endorsement.
We must stay as long as it takes to get @POTUS‘s chief military official on the job – because that is what the American…
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) April 9, 2025
“It is critical that the Senate confirm Lieutenant General Caine as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff this week. President @realDonaldTrump should have the expertise of the highest-ranking military officer in place without any delays,” Wicker said in a post on X Wednesday.
“Lieutenant General Caine sailed through the Senate Armed Services Committee on a 23 to 4 vote — an overwhelming, nearly unanimous, bipartisan endorsement. We must stay as long as it takes to get @POTUS’s chief military official on the job — because that is what the American people deserve and what the moment demands,” he added.
Caine’s confirmation vote came just before 2 a.m. on Friday, before the chamber left for a two-week recess. The House and Senate are scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., on April 28.
The newly confirmed Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman is an “unconventional” pick, by his own admission. He does not fulfill the legal requirements to take the position and requires a waiver from Trump to take the role.
Caine served in the Air Force for over three decades and argued at his confirmation hearing that his “unconventional” selection comes while “these are also unconventional times.”
