The U.S. Senate has voted 83-11 in favor of President Joe Biden’s appointment of the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Both of Missouri’s U.S. Senators voted against the confirmation of Gen. CQ Brown to be the military’s top officer.
Brown, whose military career spans four decades as a combat pilot and chief of the U.S. Air Force, will replace the retiring Gen. Mark Milley at the end of this month.
In a statement from Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, he explained why he opposed Brown’s confirmation.
“The military should be focused on keeping Americans safe, but General Brown is focused on critical race theory and other woke policies. His priorities, like Joe Biden’s, politicize our military, and I don’t support that,” said Hawley.
As for fellow Republican Eric Schmitt, in a July U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, he accused Brown of interjecting race-based politics into the military through racial quotas of applicants and military members.
“I just don’t know how we can continue to have leadership that advocates for this divisive policy,” said Schmitt.
In a statement, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Gen. Brown will be a tremendous leader of the joint force.
Brown won Senate confirmation despite the roadblocks by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama. Tuberville has been blocking hundreds of other military nominations. Some military leaders have argued that Tuberville’s actions are harming military readiness and creating instability within military families.
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