Senate confirms Trump's top military pick in overnight vote

The Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Friday during an overnight vote.

Caine was confirmed in a 60-25 vote after President Donald Trump abruptly fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. in February. Although his confirmation was bipartisan, several Democratic senators, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, protested his nomination in light of Brown's firing.

'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.'

Even still, 16 Democrats joined Republicans to confirm Caine right before Congress' two-week recess.

"General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a 'warfighter' with significant interagency and special operations experience," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

"During my first term, Razin [Caine] was instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate," Trump added. "It was done in record setting time, a matter of weeks. Many so-called military 'geniuses' said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered."

Trump credited Caine for his prior military experience and "America First" worldview, which Secretary Pete Hegseth has also embraced in his role heading the Department of Defense.

"General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment," Hegseth said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him."

"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 added.

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