In a 2 a.m. vote, the Senate confirmed Lieutenant General Dan "Razin" Caine to the rank of general to hold the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Caine, who vaulted from being a retired three-star to having a date of rank senior to all other serving four-star officers, has his work cut out for him as he tries to repair a military gravely damaged by the disastrous tenure of General Charles "C.Q." Brown, who prioritized wokeness over readiness.. To a great extent, the military ideal of the apolitical officer serving his nation has given way to that of petulant children who refuse to do anything with which they disagree. Warfighting proficiency has taken a rear seat to leftist virtue-signaling.

The vote was 60-25. The "nays" were the cream of Senate midwits: Alsobrooks (D-MD), Baldwin (D-WI), Blumenthal (D-CT), Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Booker (D-NJ), Cantwell (D-WA), Duckworth (D-IL), Gallego (D-AZ), Hirono (D-HI), Klobuchar (D-MN), Lujan (D-NM), Markey (D-MA), Merkley (D-OR), Murphy (D-CT), Murray (D-WA), Ossoff (D-GA), Padilla (D-CA), Schatz (D-HI), Schumer (D-NY), Smith (D-MN), Van Hollen (D-MD), Warnock (D-GA), Warren (D-MA), Welch (D-VT), and Whitehouse (D-RI).

Fifteen Democrats crossed over to give General Caine a firm, bipartisan start to his tenure: Cortez Masto (D-NV), Durbin (D-IL), Fetterman (D-PA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Hassan (D-NH), Heinrich (D-NM), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Kaine (D-VA), Kelly (D-AZ), Kim (D-NJ), Reed (D-RI), Rosen (D-NV), Schiff (D-CA), Slotkin (D-MI), and Warner (D-VA).

Pro-Tip: If you find Adam Schiff's vote more sane than yours, you should reconsider your choices.

Given the tenor of President Trump's presidential campaign, I don't think anyone had doubts that General Brown would not survive: see You're Fired: Trump Cans Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Presumably Over Emphasis on DEI – RedState. Caine, however, was something of a radical choice. He was a retired three-star who had spent time in the Air National Guard but had never served on the Joint Staff; Trump's Radical Choice for Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Could Rattle the Military Establishment – RedState.

The major resistance to Caine came from a small cabal of senators who apparently believe that Trump's gutting of the DEI infrastructure woven into the Armed Forces since 2009 is in danger. The thought leader of the anti-American forces in the Senate, Elizabeth Warren, said that the firings of Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti—the highest-ranking Black and female officers in the military, respectively—“sends a chilling message about who is and who is not welcome in our military.”

In the last week, two senior officers, both Air Force, have been fired for insubordination and disrespect towards President Trump or Vice President Vance. This nearly mutinous behavior and the epidemic of "malicious compliance" that is seeking to make Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth look ridiculous has reached epidemic proportions; see Defense Department Bureaucrats Use 'Malicious Compliance' to Make Hegseth's DEI Rules Look Stupid – RedState.

Step up the firings, make them a public, bloody spectacle, and you’ll see the majority of these oath breakers tuck tail and quickly get in line. https://t.co/LZghkM0lsZ pic.twitter.com/F1EYWv7D5h

— Shoe (@samosaur) April 11, 2025

Caine will face resistance and sabotage as he tries to break down over a decade of Marxist inroads and reforge the most powerful military on earth.

Few things are harder than turning around a failing but complacent and self-satisfied organization. That is the challenge facing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The military services have been hollowed out through DEI and dysfunctional leadership. The industrial base is dead in the water. Follow RedState for some of the most informed coverage on his efforts to recreate a force in crisis. Join RedState VIP and help continue that coverage. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.