During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questioned former Lieutenant General John D. Caine, the nominee to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent removal of lawyers representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Yes, thank you very much, Senator Warren.
00:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations.
00:10So if confirmed, you would serve as the principal military advisor to the President and swear
00:16an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States.
00:21President Trump once described your predecessor, General C.Q. Brown, as, quote, an outstanding
00:28leader.
00:29It's true.
00:30C.Q. Brown served for 40 years in seven assignments across four combatant commands.
00:37The President's removal of the only black officer and removal of the only female officer
00:43from the Joint Chiefs of Staff has sent a chilling message about who is and who is not
00:51welcome in our military.
00:54This worries me deeply about the future of our military and the defense of our nation.
01:01I am also concerned that President Trump wants to turn the chairman of the Joint Chiefs into
01:07just another political position.
01:09Last year, President Trump claimed that you once said you would kill for him, and then
01:15you slapped a MAGA hat on.
01:17I know that others have disputed that story, but it raises questions about whether you
01:22were selected because Donald Trump thinks that you would be loyal to him rather than
01:28to the Constitution of the United States.
01:32Secretary Hegseth has now removed the top legal advisors for military services and recommended
01:40replacements at a lower rank.
01:43So Lieutenant General Kane, if confirmed, your job will be to present your best military
01:51advice.
01:52Do you agree that in order to be able to comply with the law and make sure that your advice
01:59complies with the law, that military commanders need legal advisors with both enough expertise
02:08and a high enough rank that they will be listened to during this process?
02:16I do, Senator.
02:17I know I've always had great legal advice regardless of what rank they were, but I do
02:22agree.
02:23So you think that you need people who have good advice, but do you think it helps in
02:29making sure that others – I'm glad that you listen to good advice no matter where
02:33it comes from – but that others are more willing to listen if the people offering legal
02:39advice have high enough rank to carry some weight in the room when those decisions are
02:44taking place?
02:46I do, Senator, although, as I mentioned, I've sincerely had great legal advice from 05s
02:53to 07s, and I think it's the human, the officer, and their professionalism and intellect
03:01versus what rank they have.
03:03I do appreciate the efforts to ask the question about what rank they should be, but would
03:11defer to the Secretary on what rank he would want them to be.
03:18I have to say that that gives me some real concern because the whole point of elevating
03:23the rank was the concern that not enough people were listening to good legal advice.
03:29And while I appreciate that you say you listen, we need people to listen who are making decisions
03:36up and down the line.
03:39I understand, Lieutenant General Kaine, that the circumstances of your nomination are beyond
03:43your control, but they also place a significant burden on you to show leadership, to restore
03:51public confidence in the military, and to show that you work for the American people.
03:56I've long been concerned by senior Pentagon leaders who trade on their time in public
04:03service to cash out afterwards to work for defense contractors.
04:09And that is why, during his confirmation hearing, General Brown agreed that he would not become
04:14a lobbyist or join the board of a defense contractor after he resigned.
04:20Lieutenant General Kaine, are you willing to demonstrate that you're taking this job
04:25to serve the American people and commit that after you leave this job, you will not work
04:30for any major defense contractors or companies that are affected by your official actions?
04:36Senator, for myself, I've got no intent to do so.
04:40Okay, so you can commit to that?
04:42Yes, Senator, it's not my intent.
04:45President Trump's removal of highly qualified and talented military leaders is a permanent
04:51stain on this nation's history, as well as a blow to our ability to recruit the force
04:57that we need to compete with China.
05:00If confirmed, you will have an important responsibility to show the American people that you will
05:06defend our nation with integrity, that you will follow the law, and that you will lead
05:12our men and women in uniform with integrity.
05:17Thank you, Mr. Chairman.