Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday refused to address whether the Trump administration’s choice to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is “underqualified” for the position, as concerns proliferated in Washington following last week’s firing of the military’s top officer and six other senior Pentagon leaders.

Trump announced the dismissal of Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and said he would nominate Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, a retired three-star general, to succeed him as the top U.S. military officer.

President Trump ousted Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., a President Biden appointee, who served as the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday. “I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’