The US president has targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal agencies
US President Donald Trump has fired the Chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, the second black commander ever to occupy the post. Brown publicly supported the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement back in 2020.
Since assuming office in January, Trump has axed a number of the Biden administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across the federal government and in the military. The Republican also officially decreed that only two genders, male and female, will be recognized by the US government.
Trump announced Brown’s dismissal in a post on his Truth Social media platform on Friday, thanking the general for his service.
Brown’s term was supposed to end in September 2027. The New York Times has noted that “Joint Chiefs chairmen traditionally remain in place as administrations change.”
In a video message to the Air Force in 2020, Brown threw his weight behind the BLM protesters, claiming that during his career he had faced racial bias as a black officer.
Formed back in 2013, the BLM movement grew to national prominence in the wake of the police killings of two African-Americans – Michael Brown and Eric Garner – in 2014, and after the death of George Floyd in 2020. Movement activists claim that racism is deeply ingrained in US police forces, while its critics accuse the BLM of fomenting violence and unrest.
Appearing on the “Shawn Ryan Show” in November, now-incumbent Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that “first of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.” In one of his books, he claimed that Brown had “made the race card one of his biggest calling cards.”
Commenting on Trump’s decision in a statement on Friday, Democratic Senator and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, called out what he labeled the firing of “uniformed leaders as a type of political loyalty test, or for reasons relating to diversity and gender.”
Reed’s colleague, Democrat lawmaker Seth Moulton, similarly charged in a post on X that Trump’s decision represents the “definition of politicizing our military,” and is “un-American [and] unpatriotic.”
Along with Brown, the president let five more Pentagon officials go, including Lisa Franchetti – the first woman to command the US Navy.
A day after his inauguration, Trump relieved Linda Fagan the first female Coast Guard Commandant Admiral, of her post.
Also last month, the US president signed an executive order aimed at removing “radical gender ideology” from the country’s armed forces, which effectively barred “individuals with gender dysphoria” from military service.
Addressing Pentagon staff earlier this month, the US defense secretary dismissed the phrase “diversity is our strength” as the “dumbest” in military history.
“In this department, we will treat everyone equally,” Hegseth proclaimed, adding that “we will judge you as an individual by your merit.”
