Caine confirmed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Trump’s top military adviser
The U.S. military is getting a new leader after the Senate confirmed Dan “Razin” Caine to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by a vote of 60-25 shortly after 2 a.m. Friday.
Caine will also become a four-star as he steps into his new role as the president’s top military adviser.
President Donald Trump surprised many in February when he announced Caine — a retired Air Force three-star at that time — as his choice for chairman after firing Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown.
Caine is a former F-16 pilot who held a variety of roles throughout his 34-year military career, including with the active-duty Air Force and National Guard, the special operations community and the CIA.
During his confirmation hearing, he also touted his business experience and said he would bring an “entrepreneurial spirit” to the Pentagon as it pursues commercial technologies and other modernization initiatives.
Caine was previously chairman of the national security advisory board at Voyager Space, a venture partner at Shield Capital, an advisor for Thrive Capital and a venture partner at Ribbit Capital, according to his LinkedIn bio.
As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Caine could play a key role in making recommendations to Trump about shaking up the Defense Department’s acquisition enterprise and deciding which major programs to cancel. The president earlier this week issued an executive order on “Modernizing Defense Acquisition and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base,” directing DOD leadership to complete a comprehensive review of all major defense acquisition programs, submit a plan to reform the Pentagon’s acquisition processes, and develop a plan to “reform, right-size, and train the acquisition workforce.”
Caine will enter his new job amid an effort by Pentagon leadership to slash DOD’s civilian workforce, conduct a far-reaching regulatory review, examine contracts, and work with DOGE to cut spending that the Trump administration deems wasteful.
