Vern Evans
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold its confirmation hearing this week for President Donald Trump’s pick for the top uniformed military post, at a time when leadership at the Department of Defense is under intense scrutiny.
Retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine has been nominated to replace Gen. CQ Brown as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brown was fired by Trump last month without a clear reason.
Caine will need multiple waivers to step into the leadership role, since he is currently not in the service and does not meet statutory qualifications to step into the post. Still, he is expected to be confirmed, since Senate Republicans control the chamber and have shown little opposition thus far to any of Trump’s nominees.
Caine served in the Air National Guard and served as deputy commander of a special operations task force fighting the Islamic State terrorist group in 2018.
The hearing comes as administration officials continue to refute calls for the resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his sharing of sensitive operations plans in a non-government group chat ahead of airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month. The committee is currently investigating that controversy.
Tuesday, April 1
Senate Armed Services — 9:30 a.m. — G-50 Dirksen
Nominations
The committee will consider the nomination of Dan Caine to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
House Armed Services — 10 a.m. — 2118 Rayburn
North/South America Posture
Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of U.S. Northern Command, and Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command, will testify on current challenges and the fiscal 2026 budget request.
House Veterans’ Affairs — 10:15 a.m. — 360 Cannon
Biomedical Innovation
Department officials will testify on VA healthcare modernization efforts involving biomedical innovations.
Senate Veterans’ Affairs — 10:30 a.m. — 418 Russell
Nominations
The committee will consider several pending nominations, including Sam Brown to be Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs.
Senate Foreign Relations — 10:30 a.m. — 419 Dirksen
Nominations
The committee will consider several pending nominations.
House Foreign Affairs — 2 p.m. — 2172 Rayburn
Iranian Malign Activities
Outside experts will testify on Iranian efforts to promote terrorism and division in the Middle East.
Wednesday, April 2
House Oversight — 10 a.m. — 2247 Rayburn
Cyber Attacks
Officials will testify on ways to secure America’s telecommunication networks from state-sponsored cyber attacks.
Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m. — Capitol S-116
Nominations
The committee will consider several pending nominations.
House Veterans’ Affairs — 2 p.m. — 360 Cannon
VA Mental Health Policies
Department officials will testify on current department mental health policies.
House Armed Services — 3:30 p.m. — 2118 Rayburn
Small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Officials from the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office will testify on efforts to counter potential threats.
Thursday, April 3
Senate Armed Services — 9:30 a.m. — G-50 Dirksen
European/Africa Command
Senior officials from U.S. European Command and Africa Command will testify on current challenges and the fiscal 2026 budget request.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
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