On Friday, Donald Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff CQ Brown, along with several other top Pentagon officials.

Now, Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, has a question for the man tapped to succeed him, Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Caine.

Quote — "will he have the ability to speak truth to power?"
Senator Reed is the top democrat on the Armed Services Committee.

The Trump administration says it wants a military built on meritocracy. Critics say it's building one governed by political loyalty.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy