Booker says firing Joint Chiefs chairman sends 'dangerous message' to the military on political loyalty

Source: NBC News

Feb. 23, 2025, 1:36 PM EST / Updated Feb. 23, 2025, 2:31 PM EST


Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s firing of Gen. CQ Brown Jr. from his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sends “a dangerous message to the military” on political loyalty to the president. Trump fired Brown, the United States’ highest-ranking military officer, on Friday. Then-President Joe Biden had nominated Brown in 2023 for a four-year term.

A chairman should “give independent advice on the military and national security,” Booker told moderator Kristen Welker in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” noting that the position’s terms are set so the chairman will be independent of politics.

“Donald Trump has thrown that out the window and is sending a dangerous message to the military: It’s not about your independent expertise, it’s not about your years of service. It’s about your personal political loyalty to me, and that is a dangerous message to send to our military at a time when we really need independent, credible advice in going to the president, because we live in a difficult, complex world,” Booker said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Booker’s remarks.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/booker-says-firing-joint-chiefs-chairman-sends-dangerous-message-rcna193363