Biden is due to announce his selection during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity ahead of the president’s planned remarks, said Wednesday night. Air Force officials declined to comment.
Brown would replace Gen. Mark A. Milley, an outspoken Army officer whose tenure has overlapped with numerous crises, including Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the chaotic and deadly evacuation of Afghanistan, and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. By law, Milley must vacate the post by the end of September.
Biden considers Brown an experienced tactician who understands the strategic challenges facing the United States across the world and a leader able to represent U.S. military personnel and their families, the administration official said.
Brown has commanded troops at every level in the Air Force and in joint assignments, helped conceive and lead the air campaign against the Islamic State group, and is “deeply versed” in the challenges that China poses, the official said. As a member of the Joint Staff, he has also been involved in the Pentagon’s effort to arm, train and advise the Ukrainian military, a program that has funneled tens of billions of dollars in weaponry to the government in Kyiv.
As the Air Force’s top officer, Brown has warned frequently that the service must accelerate how quickly it modernizes or risk losing its superiority. It is important, he has said, to shed aging warplanes to make room for more advanced aircraft. He has also sought to improve working conditions for Air Force personnel with an emphasis on racial justice.
“I want these things to be enduring well after I’m gone — if someone wants to look back and say CQ Brown was part of that, fine — but I just want to make our Air Force as capable as possible,” Brown said during a recent appearance at the Brookings Institution.
The next chairman’s portfolio will include regularly interfacing with Ukrainian military leaders on their battlefield strategy and needs, continuing efforts to counter China’s expanding military footprint in the Pacific, and wading through America’s toxic political landscape while attempting to uphold the military’s nonpartisan tradition. American confidence in the military has plummeted in the last few years, according to several surveys, prompting concern that an organization that once enjoyed major support among the U.S. populace has entered a troubled new era.
It was not immediately clear when the Senate might take up Brown’s nomination nor how quickly the process can move. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has put a hold on all of the Pentagon’s nominations while decrying the Defense Department’s policy of allowing military personnel to recoup travel expenses incurred while seeking an abortion if they are stationed in states that ban or restrict the procedure.
If Brown is confirmed, he will work alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, marking the first time the Pentagon’s two top jobs would be held by African Americans. Brown was the first Black officer to lead a branch of the military and would be the second African American to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman, following Gen. Colin Powell, who ascended to the job in 1989.
The Biden administration launched its search for the next chairman early this year, interviewing Brown and Gen. David H. Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps. Early this month, U.S. officials said that they expected Brown would be selected, but the White House said at the time that the decision was not final.
