Trump taps Gen. Mark Milley to chair Joint Chiefs of Staff


President Trump announced his pick to succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a pair of tweets Saturday morning:
Milley's nomination was anticipated after Trump suggested Friday evening an announcement about the role was forthcoming. Dunford's term does not expire until next October, and Milley will have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Trump's choice was reportedly opposed by Defense Secretary James Mattis, who is thought to have preferred Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein for the post. Trump met with both candidates in advance of his choice.
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Milley has commanded U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and has endorsed increased military spending on weapons development and preparedness.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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