Up First from NPR
Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Sat, 22 Feb 2025
President Donald Trump fires the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, plus the Defense Department is set to lose more than 5 thousand personnel. Hamas releases 6 more living hostages as part of its ceasefire agreement with Israel. Corrections officers in NY protest working conditions and some walk off the job, prompting the governor to send in National Guard troops to secure some state prisons.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What changes are occurring at the Pentagon?
Upheaval at the Pentagon.
President Donald Trump fires the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Top military lawyers are also out, as are more than 5,000 personnel. I'm Ayesha Roscoe.
And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News.
Chapter 2: Why did President Trump fire the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?
Hamas frees more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The militant group has also returned the body of Sherry Bibas, whose remains were initially misidentified in an earlier handover. We'll have the latest.
And in New York State, the governor has deployed National Guard troops to help secure prisons.
That's amid protests by corrections officers. Some are on strike. Guards at two prisons walked off the job last week.
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the second African-American to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is now out of a job.
He was fired last night by President Trump.
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Chapter 3: Who is replacing General Brown as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?
Trump has nominated Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Cain as his replacement.
And Parapanagon correspondent Tom Bowman joins us with more details about this and other Department of Defense shakeups. Tom, thanks for being here.
Good to be with you, Scott. What happened? Well, you know, it is stunning, but it actually was expected. Scott, there's been talk for weeks that General Brown would be fired. And a lot of this comes down to a sense the general was chosen for the post because of the color of his skin, not his ability. Now, again, he's a second African-American after Colin Powell to hold a top military job.
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in his book, War and Warriors, that Brown should be fired because he was pushing diversity programs and questioned whether he got the job because of the color of his skin or his skill. Texas said he made the race car his biggest calling card.
Now, Brown did make an emotional video after the death of George Floyd, recalling his discrimination he felt rising through the ranks in the Air Force. But Brown's an accomplished F-16 pilot, held numerous commands. And also, it was Trump during his first term who nominated him to become Air Force chief.
Who's General Kane, man set to replace him?
General Kane, he's an F-16 pilot like C.Q. Brown. He rose up through the ranks and met Trump while he was stationed in Baghdad back in 2018-19. And Trump said, Kane told him that ISIS could be defeated quickly. And Trump said he delivered. What's important to note, Scott, is that Brown came up with the strategy to defeat ISIS.
He was going to treat it as a state, not as a terror group where you provide air support to the Kurdish fighters on the ground. He went after their infrastructure, went after their banks. That's what ended the Islamic State. You know, that's something that Trump never mentioned. And Dan Cain more recently spent time working at the CIA.
Several people I spoke with at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill said they had to Google him. He's a retired three-star, so he'll have to come back on active duty, be promoted to four-star rank, and will need Senate approval.
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Chapter 4: What is the latest on the Hamas hostage release?
Chapter 5: How is New York State responding to prison protests?
And in New York State, the governor has deployed National Guard troops to help secure prisons.
That's amid protests by corrections officers. Some are on strike. Guards at two prisons walked off the job last week.
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the second African-American to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is now out of a job.
He was fired last night by President Trump.
Trump has nominated Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Cain as his replacement.
And Parapanagon correspondent Tom Bowman joins us with more details about this and other Department of Defense shakeups. Tom, thanks for being here.
Good to be with you, Scott. What happened? Well, you know, it is stunning, but it actually was expected. Scott, there's been talk for weeks that General Brown would be fired. And a lot of this comes down to a sense the general was chosen for the post because of the color of his skin, not his ability. Now, again, he's a second African-American after Colin Powell to hold a top military job.
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in his book, War and Warriors, that Brown should be fired because he was pushing diversity programs and questioned whether he got the job because of the color of his skin or his skill. Texas said he made the race car his biggest calling card.
Now, Brown did make an emotional video after the death of George Floyd, recalling his discrimination he felt rising through the ranks in the Air Force. But Brown's an accomplished F-16 pilot, held numerous commands. And also, it was Trump during his first term who nominated him to become Air Force chief.
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