Trump retired General John D. Kane, after firing General Charles Q. Brown.
President Donald Trump has retired from Lt. Gen. John D. Kane and ordered Lt. Gen. John D. Kane to become the next chairman of the co-status chief, the highest-ranking uniformed leader of the US military. I served.
After 34 years of military service, Kane flew into air combat missions, overseeing special operations between branches, serving on White House advisory duties, and working with the Central Intelligence Agency. Kane’s military career included time spent with the Air Force active components and time spent with the Air National Guard. He has also worked with a private business entity focusing on aerospace and national security issues at Voyager Technologies recently.
The nomination requires Kane to be brought back from retirement from military service after completing his service in December 2024.
“The so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. Meanwhile, General Kane said it could be done quickly and he delivered,โ the president wrote.
Trump opened up the position of Kane’s co-elebrity chair by removing General Charles Q. Brown from his leadership post on February 21.
Federal law also states that when selecting the next chairman of the Chief of the Chief of Staff, the president can choose from an officer who has already served as the vice-president of the Chief of Staff, or as the Chief of Staff in either the military division. Masu. , or as a commander of a unified or designated combatant. Caine does not hold any of these specific qualifying positions.
The President can abandon these selection criteria on the assumption that the decision is in national interest. Still, Trump’s move to select Kane as the next co-chief chairman could invite additional scrutiny during the Senate confirmation process.
“Even though he was highly qualified and respected to serve as co-head during his previous administration, General Cain was taken over for promotion by sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump said in February. It was mentioned in the Truth Social Post on the 21st.
Democrats have already raised concerns that Trump’s decision to remove Brown from the co-chief chair is politically motivated.
“I am troubled by the nature of these dismissals, which is a broader plan by President Trump and (Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses) to cleanse talented officers for politically charged reasons. It appears to be part of a campaign like this: Jack Reed (Dr.I.), a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on February 21.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.), who also serves on the Senate’s Armed Worship Committee, said in a statement on Saturday that the decision to fire Brown was “disrespectful, dangerous and unnecessary political.” He said there was.
“We’re not going to improve preparation, increase lethality, or strengthen our troops,” she added.
Fighter pilot
Kane graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1990 with a degree in economics and was commissioned as an Air Force officer. He began his military career as a pilot, learning to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon Fighter Jet, and in 2005 he received his Master’s degree in Aviation Warfare from the US Military College.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon will fly missions with file photos. US Air Force Photography Staff Sergeant. Sherry A. Thirlby
“I remember telling the wingman that I was going to fly with that day. Don’t shoot anyone. “If you made a mistake, or you were wrong, or you missed someone and didn’t shoot. In that case, the outcome can be devastating: the ground, but for the whole country,” Kane said.
Special Operations Commander
Throughout his military career, Kane was tasked with working with the special operations community.
From January to July 2008, Kane served at the Joint Special Operations Task Force – Aviation Bureau at Balad Air Force Base, Iraq. He then served for over a year and a half as the liaison officer for the 24th Special Tactical Squadron.
Caine served on the command staff of the Elite US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the staff of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the most elite and secret component of SOCOM.
Caine’s time with SOCOM and JSOC overlaps with Trump’s first term. The general oversaw special operations efforts in Iraq as part of his broader mission to defeat ISIS between May 2018 and September 2019.
In public remarks, Trump regularly recalled seeing Kane in Iraq for the first time in 2018, praised the general for his optimistic timeline to reverse ISIS territorial ownership across the region. Speaking at the event Miami on February 19th, Trump explained that he had first met Kane, calling him a “real general, not a television general.”
“And (Kane). He did that,” Trump said.

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the US military, as first lady Melania Trump sees during his unannounced trip to Al Assad Air Base in Iraq on December 26, 2018. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Intelligence and White House Allocation
For two years, Kane served as director of the Department of Defense’s Special Access Program from September 2019 to September 2021. This is a portfolio of highly classified government programs.
During his final three years of military service, Caine served as the CIA’s associate director of military affairs. The CIA’s military issues component is established to coordinate collaboration between the US military and the Intelligence Reporting Agency.
Early in his military career, Kane spent more than two years at the White House.
He first worked as a special assistant to the White House Fellow and Secretary of Agriculture in August 2005, and continued his duties until October 2006. From there, he served as the White House Homeland Security Council policy director until January on anti-terrorism and strategy. 2008.
Private life
Kane’s Air Force Biography states that he served part-time military time as a member of the National Guard from 2009 to 2016. His military service biographies describe Kane as a “serial entrepreneur and investor” in his civilian life.
In a short window between his planned retirement and the announcement of Trump’s nomination, Kane held positions in four different private companies involved in venture capital and national security. He was appointed to chair the National Security Advisory Committee for Voyager Technologies, a defense and aerospace technology company.