Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday refused to address whether the Trump administration’s choice to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is “underqualified” for the position, as concerns proliferated in Washington following last week’s firing of the military’s top officer and six other senior Pentagon leaders.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday rejected a reporter’s question that suggested President Trump’s pick for the new Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Dan Caine, was not qualified for the position.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview on Sunday that Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. was “not the right man for the moment” and praised President Trump’s handling of the war in Ukraine.