‘AN UNCONVENTIONAL NOMINEE’ FOR ‘UNCONVENTIONAL TIMES’: President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, breezed through his confirmation hearing yesterday, assuring wary Democrats that he would set a “good example from the top,” making sure that the U.S. military remains “nonpartisan and apolitical and speaking the truth to power every day.”
In his opening statement, Caine acknowledged the elephant in the room, namely that his resume, while impressive, didn’t include the legal requirements for the job, such as serving as a four-star combatant commander or service chief. “Senators, I acknowledge that I’m an unconventional nominee. These are unconventional times,” he said, “In our family, we serve. When asked, we always say yes.”
Democrats grilled Caine about where his loyalties would lie if confirmed as the top military adviser to the president and secretary of defense. “To whom or what do you swear an oath to?” asked Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
“Senator, as I have for 34 years, it’s to the Constitution,” Caine replied. “If necessary, will you choose the right thing to do, even if it’s hard, over the easier wrong option?” Kelly pressed. “I’ve always strived to do the right thing, and that’s not going to change now.”
“And are you willing to get fired from this job for doing the right thing and following the Constitution?” Kelly asked. “I am,” said Caine.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) pressed Caine on whether he would give Trump his candid advice even if “a little birdy has tipped you off” that it would be unwelcomed. “I went to VMI where I lived in the new barracks for four years and looked out on a statue of George Catlett Marshall for four years, and sir, if I failed to provide my candid advice to the Secretary, the NSC, or the President, I think General Marshall would climb out of his grave and hunt me down,” Caine replied.
Sen. Elise Slotkin (D-MI) posed another hypothetical. “If the President asked you to do something that was unconstitutional, to use the military in a way that was unconstitutional, to put military into the streets of our cities or policing, performing law enforcement roles, which they are not trained for … If he asks you to do that, will you push back and lay down the law on behalf of the Constitution, not for the president’s whims?”
“I will, Senator,” Caine replied. “I don’t expect that to happen, but of course, I would.”
THE GHOST OF MILLEY: Both Republicans and Democrats cited the investigation into former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley as an object lesson, while having completely different takeaways.
“General Milley modeled inappropriate and political behavior to a whole generation of officers. And it’s why I fully support President Trump’s decision to relieve Gen. C.Q. Brown,” said Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN). “General Milley admitted to calling Speaker Pelosi and disparaging President Trump’s mental fitness and questioning his nuclear command authority, that was completely inappropriate and unacceptable.”
In his 2021 book Peril, Bob Woodward cited a transcript of the call Milley made to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, in response to Pelosi’s concern that Trump might start a reckless nuclear war in his waning days in office.
“He’s crazy. You know he’s crazy. He’s been crazy for a long time. So don’t say you don’t know what his state of mind is. He’s crazy, and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness,” Pelosi said. “Madam Speaker,” Milley replied, according to the transcript. “I agree with you on everything.”
“How will you communicate differently than that with congressional leadership?” Banks inquired. “I’m committed to open and transparent communication, but the first duty of the Chairman is the adviser to the President, and so, you know, I would flow through that chain of command.”
“General Milley promised Chinese Generals, without the President’s knowledge, that he’d warn them if the United States was about to attack. Do you think it’s inappropriate or appropriate for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to warn our greatest adversary when we’re about to attack or what we might do?” Banks asked.
“No, sir,” was Caine’s reply.
Kelly and other Democrats came to Milley’s defense, noting the calls to their Chinese counterparts were coordinated by then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and done “to reassure them that the United States was not going to launch an attack,” preventing unnecessary conflict. “General Milley did this out of a deep respect and commitment to the Constitution of the United States, in my view,” said Kelly.
“With all due respect to you, we should not be here today. This hearing is happening only because of the unprecedented dismissal without cause of General Brown as chairman,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI). “General Brown’s dismissal reveals, once again, President Trump’s intention to install yes men and women with fealty to him and not to the Constitution or the American people.”
“It’s always a challenge to stand up to this president,” Hirono said, noting Milley is now facing an investigation that could reduce him in rank and strip him of some of his retirement benefits.
“You note that we need to preserve the element of surprise. Is discussing the kinds of matters that were discussed on Signal preserving the element of surprise?” Hirono asked.
“Given the fact that the chairman and ranking member asked for an investigation, I don’t want to comment on the particulars. I do want to stay at the strategic altitude and say that we should always preserve the element of surprise.”
IT MUST HAVE BEEN SOMEBODY ELSE: When President Trump first told the story of meeting “Razin” Caine in Iraq at the 2019 CPAC convention, there was no mention of Caine professing his love for Trump, or promising to kill for him, and donning a red MAGA hat.
Those details were added after several retellings of the anecdote, which Caine testified is apocryphal.
“For 34 years, I’ve upheld my oath of office and the responsibilities of my Commission. I think I went back and listened to those tapes, and I think the president was actually talking about somebody else. And I’ve never worn any political merchandise or said anything to that effect,” he said in response to questioning from Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).
In fact, a transcript of Trump’s 2024 remarks to CPAC indicates that when he said the words, “‘Yes, sir. I love you, sir. I think you’re great, sir. I’ll kill for you, sir.’ Then he puts on a Make America Great Again hat,” he was speaking about a Sergeant he met, not Caine.
“If you wore such a hat, would that constitute partisan political activity by a uniformed officer, yes or no?” Hirono asked Caine later in the hearing. “I think it probably would, yes, Senator,” he replied.
JOINT CHIEFS PICK LT. GEN. DAN CAINE DENIES WEARING ‘MAGA’ HAT, CONTRADICTING TRUMP
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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HAPPENING TODAY: ‘LIBERATION DAY’: President Donald Trump has dubbed today “Liberation Day” and plans to roll out sweeping reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners in a long-term plan to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and stop other countries from “ripping off” the United States.
“FOR YEARS WE HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF BY VIRTUALLY EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, BOTH FRIEND AND FOE. BUT THOSE DAYS ARE OVER — AMERICA FIRST!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account last week. “LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA IS COMING.”
Trump is scheduled to make the formal announcement in the White House’s Rose Garden at 4 p.m. — after the markets close — flanked by members of his Cabinet.
“President Trump is going to ensure … other countries are being treated the way we have been treated. We’re going to make America wealthy again with massive revenue,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. “This will implement trillions and trillions of dollars back to the United States of America.”
HAPPENING TODAY: FRESH ACCUSATIONS OF WALTZ SECURITY LAPSES: Even as the White House is trying to put the compromised Signal chat debacle behind it, the Washington Post is reporting new allegations that national security adviser Mike Waltz used his personal unencrypted and unsecured Gmail account for sensitive information that should have been communicated on classified systems.
A spokesman for the National Security Council called the report an attempt “to distract the American people from President Trump’s successful national security agenda,” according to Fox News. “Waltz received emails and calendar invites from legacy contacts on his personal email and cc’d government accounts for anything since January 20th to ensure compliance with records retention, and he has never sent classified material over his personal email account or any unsecured platform,” NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes told Fox.
The Washington Post said it has interviewed three U.S. officials and reviewed documents showing that Waltz and other members of the National Security Council have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts.
“A senior Waltz aide used the commercial email service for highly technical conversations with colleagues at other government agencies involving sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems relating to an ongoing conflict,” the report said, citing emails it obtained. “While the NSC official used his Gmail account, his interagency colleagues used government-issued accounts, headers from the email correspondence show.”
OPINION: WHY SIGNALGATE IS A BIG DEAL
DEFENDING DEPORTATION ‘CLERICAL ERROR’: Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man whose wife and 5-year-old autistic son are both U.S. citizens and who was granted protected legal status in 2019, is now stuck in the notorious CECOT prison due to a “clerical error,” and the White House says there will be no effort to have him sent back.
While the Trump administration admits the administrative error, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Garcia is still a bad guy and doesn’t merit any corrective action. “This individual was a member, actually a leader of the brutal MS-13 gang, which this president has designated as a foreign terrorist organization,” Leavitt said. “We also have credible intelligence proving that this individual was involved in human trafficking.”
“The administration maintains the position that this individual who was deported to El Salvador will not be returning to our country,” she said.
“There was a judge who was handling this matter … from 2019, and the matter was ongoing. He was picked up in 2025 and taken out of the country without that judge having a chance to hear why he was being taken or whether he’d violated any of the conditions of his release,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) in an appearance on Fox News. “I mean, bring him back, give him the chance to have the hearing he should have had before he was sent over there, because that is what American law requires.”
“Far from being a Venezuelan gang member, he was someone who had protection. He had an order called withholding removal,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). “His removal was being withheld from the country because he would have qualified for asylum because he was afraid of gangs in El Salvador. And yet that was precisely where they sent him to El Salvador under the brutal dictator there to be sent to this mega prison.”
“This is what happens when you don’t have due process. You have cases of mistaken identity, and people swept up in it who simply are not part of whatever kind of project they think they’ve undertaken.”
DEMOCRATS ASK HOW MANY WERE WRONGLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR PRISON IN ADDITION TO MARYLAND MAN
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Joint Chiefs pick Dan Caine pledges to be impartial military adviser, distancing himself from politics
Washington Examiner: Joint Chiefs pick Lt. Gen. Dan Caine denies wearing ‘MAGA’ hat, contradicting Trump
Washington Examiner: Trump approves UK plan to give up Chagos Islands under ICJ’s ‘decolonization’ ruling
Washington Examiner: Body of final missing US Army soldier in Lithuania recovered, Hegseth announces
Washington Examiner: Democrats ask how many were wrongly deported to El Salvador prison in addition to Maryland man
Washington Examiner: No, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was not in the United States legally
Washington Examiner: Oliver Stone asks Congress to reopen JFK assassination investigation with new evidence available
Washington Examiner: Israel removes tariffs on US goods before Trump’s April 2 levies begin
Washington Examiner: Chinese military launches large-scale drills around Taiwan
Washington Examiner: Trump signed an executive order delaying a TikTok ban. Now, its future is in limbo
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Why Signalgate is a big deal
Washington Post: Waltz and Staff Used Gmail for Government Communications, Officials Say
Washington Post: White House studying cost of Greenland takeover, long in Trump’s sights
New York Times: China Holds Military Exercises Around Taiwan in Fresh Warning
DefenseScoop: CYBERCOM Discovered Chinese Malware in South American Nations—Joint Chiefs Chairman Nominee
The Telegraph: Iran Urged to Strike Diego Garcia Base ‘Immediately’
AP: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Claim They Shot Down Another American Drone as US Strikes Pound Country
AP: Israel’s military operation in Gaza Strip expanding to seize ‘large areas,’ defense minister says
Defense One: How NORAD Could Be Hurt by US-Canada Tensions
Breaking Defense: NORTHCOM Commander: ‘Strong Concern’ Spectrum Auctioning Could Jeopardize Golden Dome
AP: Danish prime minister heads to Greenland as Trump seeks control of the Arctic territory
AP: Naval Academy removes nearly 400 books from library in new DEI purge ordered by Hegseth’s office
AP: An ‘administrative error’ sent a Maryland man to an El Salvador prison, ICE says
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Awards First Commercial Reserve Contracts
Breaking Defense: Philippines Cleared to Buy F-16s at Estimated $5.6B
The War Zone: New AIM-120E Variant of AMRAAM Air-To-Air Missile Hinted at by USAF
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Air Force ‘Doomsday’ Wing Boosts Nuclear Command and Control
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force’s Last Active-Duty F-15C Made Its Final Flight at Kadena
THE CALENDAR:
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 2
8 a.m. 7500 GEOINT Dr., Springfield, Virginia — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association 2025 Spring Intelligence Symposium: “Intelligence Challenges in the Face of Rapidly Intensifying Multipolar Threats,” with Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director, Defense Intelligence Agency; Adrian Bird, chief of defence intelligence, U.K. Ministry of Defence; Canadian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Dominic Goulet, deputy director for commonwealth integration, Defense Intelligence Agency; and Air Commodore Shaun Sexton, chief of defence intelligence, Royal New Zealand Air Force https://www.afcea.org/events/2025-spring-intelligence-symposium
8 a.m. 1700 Richmond Hwy., Arlington, Virginia — Association of Defense Communities 2025 National Summit, with David Dentino, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for installations, housing, and partnerships; Robert Moriarty, deputy assistant Air Force secretary for installations, and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) https://adcsummit.org/
9 a.m. — Peterson Institute for International Economics virtual discussion: “The real turning point for Germany: Economic and security implications of the Merz chancellorship,” with Moritz Schularick, president, Kiel Institute for the World Economy https://www.piie.com/events/2025/real-turning-point-germany
9 a.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council North Africa Initiative discussion: “Trump 2.0 and the Middle East: Adapting to a Shifting Political Landscape,” with Jennifer Gavito, nonresident senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations and former acting principal deputy assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs RSVP: [email protected]
10 a.m. EDT Brussels, Belgium — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference ahead of two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/events
10 a.m. 253 Russell — Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing: “Safety First: Restoring Boeing’s Status as a Great American Manufacturer,” with testimony from Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg http://commerce.senate.gov
10 a.m. — Women’s Foreign Policy Group virtual discussion: “Spotlight Ukraine: Commercial Opportunities for Global Allies,” with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, former assistant secretary of state for energy resources; and former Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Nataliya Mykolska, executive director of Diia.City United https://wfpg.memberclicks.net/spotlight-ukraine#!/
1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “The Future of U.S.-Japan-ROK Trilateral Cooperation,” with Kristi Govella, associate professor, University of Oxford’s Institute of Japan Studies; Siddharth Mohandas, CSIS nonresident senior associate; Mark Green, CSIS nonresident senior adviser; Victor Cha, CSIS Korea chair; and Minchi Hyun, CSIS Korea chair https://www.csis.org/events/future-us-japan-rok-trilateral-cooperation
2:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “AI Diffusion and Defense Production,” with Divyansh Kaushik, vice president of Beacon Global Strategies; Keegan McBride, lecturer in AI, government and policy, Oxford Internet Institute and adjunct senior fellow in national security and technology, Center for a New American Security; Glenn Parham, former pentagon generative AI tech lead; Masao Dahlgren, fellow, CSIS Missile Defense Project; and Tom Karako, director, CSIS Missile Defense Project and senior fellow, CSIS Defense and Security Department http://www.csis.org RVVP: [email protected]
3 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual book discussion: The Rivalry Peril: How Great Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy, with author Van Jackson, senior lecturer in international relations at Victoria University; Michael Brenes, co-director of Yale University’s Brady Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and lecturer in history at Yale University; and Jake Werner, director, Quincy Institute’s East Asia Program https://quincyinst.org/events/book-talk-the-rivalry-peril/
3:30 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee hearing: “Small UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) and Counter-Small UAS: Gaps, Requirements, and Projected Capabilities,” with testimony from Doug Beck, director, Defense Innovation Unit; Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for capabilities development and integration and commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command; Army Lt. Gen. Robert Collins, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology and director, Army Acquisition Corps in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army; Army Maj. Gen. David Stewart, director, Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office; and Army Col. Guy Yelverton, deputy for acquisition and systems management for the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space http://www.armedservices.house.gov
8 p.m. — Jews United for Democracy virtual discussion: “Statecraft: Donald Trump and the Prospects for the Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy in 2025,” with former Special Middle East Coordinator Dennis Ross, counselor and fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Larry Mantle, host of AirTalk with Larry Mantle https://www.jewsunitedfordemocracy.org/blog/event
THURSDAY | APRIL 3
4 a.m. Brussels, Belgium — Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, with press conferences scheduled by both Rubio and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte https://www.nato.int
9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “The posture of the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2026 and the future years defense program” http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
9:30 a.m. 430 Dirksen — U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing: “The Rocket’s Red Glare: China’s Ambitions to Dominate Space,” Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations https://www.uscc.gov/hearings/rockets-red-glare-chinas-ambitions-dominate-space
10 a.m. — Peterson Institute for International Economics virtual discussion: “Economic Statecraft and the Russia-Ukraine War,” with Elina Ribakova, Kyiv School of Economics vice president for foreign policy; and Anjali Bhatt, PIIE communications manager and research fellow https://www.piie.com/events/2025/economic-statecraft-and-russia-ukraine-war
11 a.m. — Defense Priorities virtual discussion: “China-Russia: Cooperation or a no-limits alliance?” with Lyle Goldstein, director, Asia Program; Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director, Center for a New American Security; Sergey Radchenko, Wilson E. Schmidt distinguished professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; and Benjamin Friedman, policy director, Defense Priorities https://www.defensepriorities.org/events/china-russia-cooperation
12 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW — Henry L. Stimson Center discussion: “Iran’s Rise and Rivalry with the US in the Middle East,” with author Mohsen Milani, professor of politics and the director, University of South Florida’s Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies; and Barbara Slavin, Stimson distinguished fellow https://www.stimson.org/event/book-talk-with-professor-mohsen-milani/
FRIDAY | APRIL 4
6:30 a.m. EST Brussels, Belgium — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference at the conclusion of the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/events
8:15 a.m.100 Westgate Cir., Annapolis, Maryland — American Bar Association 2025 Federal Procurement Institute, with David Norquist, president and CEO, National Defense Industrial Association https://events.americanbar.org/event
