Biden tapping Gen. Charles Brown for chairman of the Joint Chiefs
President Biden is nominating Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president is expected to announce Thursday at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
Brown is currently the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
The post is the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and the chairman is the primary military advisor to the president as well as the secretary of defense and the National Security Council.
Brown will replace General Mark Milley, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2019. The Chairman serves at the pleasure of the President for a term of four years. Milli held the position during the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and the deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Millie’s term expires in September, but it is customary for the president to choose a successor in the spring to allow time for congressional confirmation. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recommended Brown.
But Brown’s confirmation could be delayed because Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberwell is blocking Senate confirmation of hundreds of senior military promotions to protest the Pentagon’s policy on abortion.
If ultimately confirmed, Brown would be the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since General Colin Powell was tapped by President George HW Bush in 1989.
As Austin’s first black secretary of defense, Brown’s selection would mark the first time that two black Americans simultaneously held the highest positions in the Pentagon.
As Air Force chief of staff, Brown is already a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He currently oversees the training and equipping of approximately 700,000 active duty, reserve, guard and civilian forces in the United States and abroad.
According to his Pentagon biography, Brown began his military service as a command pilot, with more than 3,000 flight hours, including 130 combat hours. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas Tech University. Prior to serving as Air Force Chief of Staff, Brown was commander of Pacific Air Forces for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
The White House says Brown has fully supported U.S. efforts to equip Ukraine with the capabilities needed to deter Russian aggression, and said he is deeply familiar with the threats posed by China.
Mr. Biden interviewed both Brown and Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger for the position.
— Weijia Jiang contributed to this report.
