Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth decisively shut down a hostile question from a reporter amid a meeting with Saudi Minister of Defense, His Royal Highness Khalid bin Salman, at the Pentagon.  The member of the press inquired about Hegseth’s selection of retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan “Razin” Caine, who will replace CQ Brown.

The reporter pressed Hegseth in front of the the Saudi official, describing Caine as “underdqualified.”  he asked, “Why did you select an underqualified retired lieutenant general to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?” Hegseth immediately fired back, “I’m going to choose to reject your unqualified question. Who’s next?”

During a podcast interview with Shawn Ryan in November, Hegesth emphasized that Brown needed to be fired amid the agenda to scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the government.  “You gotta fire the chairman of the Joint chiefs, and you got to fire this—I mean, obviously you’re going to bring in a new secretary of defense, but any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI, woke bulls–t has got to go,” he said.

President Donald Trump announced the firing of Brown on Truth Social, writing, “I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”  He added, “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”

Speaking about Caine’s appointment, Trump said, “Today, I am honored to announce that I am nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffGeneral Caine is an.   accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience.”

“During my first term, Razin was instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate,” Trump further noted. “It was done in record-setting time, a matter of weeks.  Many so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered.”

“Despite being highly qualified and respected to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the previous administration, General Caine was passed over for promotion by Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump said. “But not anymore! Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military.”

Watch Hegseth shut down the reporter below:

“General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment. I look forward to working with him,” Hegseth said in a statement about the firing. “The outgoing Chairman, Gen. Charles ‘CQ’ Brown, Jr., USAF, has served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service,” Hegseth said. “I have come to know him as a thoughtful adviser and salute him for his distinguished service to our country.” He added, “Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars.”