President Trump also pushed out five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of U.S. military leadership, Reuters reported.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he would nominate former Lieutenant General Dan "Razin" Caine to succeed Brown, breaking with tradition by pulling someone out of retirement for the first time to become the top military officer.
The president will also replace the head of the U.S. Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service, as well as the air force vice chief of staff, the Pentagon said. He is also removing the judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force, critical positions that ensure enforcement of military justice.
Trump s decision sets off a period of upheaval at the Pentagon, which was already bracing for mass firings of civilian staff, a dramatic overhaul of its budget and a shift in military deployments under Trump s new America First foreign policy.
While the Pentagon s civilian leadership changes from one administration to the next, the uniformed members of the U.S. armed forces are meant to be apolitical, carrying out the policies of Democratic and Republican administrations.
Brown, the second Black officer to become the president s top uniformed military adviser, was serving a four-year term meant to end in September 2027.
A U.S. official said Brown was relieved with immediate effect, before the Senate confirms his successor.
Reuters in November was first to report that the incoming Trump administration planned a sweeping shakeup of the top brass, with firings including Brown.
Democratic lawmakers condemned the decision by Trump, a Republican.
"Firing uniformed leaders as a type of political loyalty test, or for reasons relating to diversity and gender that have nothing to do with performance, erodes the trust and professionalism that our servicemembers require to achieve their missions," said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the firings were "un-American, unpatriotic, and dangerous for our troops and our national security."
"This is the definition of politicizing our military," he said.
WOKE GENERALS
During last year s presidential campaign, Trump spoke of firing "woke" generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 pullout from Afghanistan. But on Friday, the president did not explain his decision to replace Brown.
"I want to thank General Charles CQ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family," Trump wrote.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been skeptical of Brown before taking the helm of the Pentagon with a broad agenda that includes eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military.
In his most recent book, Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and military veteran, asked whether Brown would have gotten the job if he were not Black.
Brown was on official travel when Trump made the announcement. Hours before Trump s announcement, Brown s official X account had posted images of him meeting troops on the U.S. border with Mexico, deployed in support of Trump s crackdown on illegal immigration.
A spokesperson for Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WOMEN LEADERS FIRED
Franchetti was the first woman to command the U.S. Navy.
Her 2023 nomination by then-President Joe Biden had been a surprise. Pentagon officials had widely expected the nomination to go to Admiral Samuel Paparo, who at the time led the navy in the Pacific. Paparo was instead promoted to lead the U.S. military s Indo Pacific Command.
Last month, Trump s Pentagon lashed out Mark Milley, a retired Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, by revoking his personal security detail and security clearance. It also removed his portrait from the walls of the Pentagon.
