The Senate was burning the midnight oil with overnight votes once again, and has promoted Lt. General Dan “Razin” Caine to be a Major General in the Air Force and subsequently confirmed him as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
The vote series occurred in the early hours of Friday morning, after Senate Democrats refused to allow Republicans to expedite the procedural process, in part due to their simmering anger over the firing of former Chairman C.Q. Brown earlier this year.
But Caine ultimately earned significant bipartisan support, with 16 Senate Democrats voting in favor of Caine’s confirmation. The final vote was 60-25.
Brown was dismissed by President Donald Trump in late February, on the same day that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired then-chief of the U.S. Navy, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and Gen. James Slife, the then-vice chief of the Air Force.
Trump immediately announced that Caine was his pick to replace Brown — an unorthodox move, given the fact that Caine was retired and not yet a four-star general. The Senate confirmed his promotion from Lt. General shortly before voting on his confirmation as chairman.
Earlier this week Caine received bipartisan support from the Senate Armed Services Committee, with all but four committee Democrats voting to advance his nomination to the Senate floor.
