Committee will come to order. Our eager members of the fourth estate are welcome to clear away,

thanking them for their presence.

On Tuesday morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for President

Trump's nominee for chairman of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff, the principal military advisor to the president.

This morning, the committee meets to consider the nomination of retired Lieutenant General

Dan Kane.

Trump's pick is Lieutenant General Dan Kane, known casually as Raisin Cain.

We must start by acknowledging the unusual conditions around your nomination.

Six weeks ago, President Trump abruptly dismissed General C.Q. Brown, who was not even halfway

into his tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Back in February, President Trump fired the man who had held the position, General Charles

K. Brown Jr., a respected career official who Trump himself had nominated in 2020 to lead the

Air Force. Brown was the first African American to ever lead a branch of the armed forces.

That dismissal caused a stir on its own, but the announcement of Brown's replacement,

Dan Cain, was also met with surprise and confusion.

I realize for many Americans, I'm an unknown leader.

Kane was relatively unknown and has never overseen a branch of the military, nor has he managed a large-scale division of combat troops.

Usually those are prerequisites for the job.

Kane is also retired, a break from the tradition of having active personnel in the role.

I've served in the interagency at the end at the White House, and I've deployed

in combat as a fire pilot, a special operations officer, and a CIA officer. I've also had the

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