Joint Chiefs of Staff nominee testifies before Congress

WASHINGTON — President Biden’s pick to serve as America’s top military officer warned senators Tuesday of the difficulties posed by any potential conflict in Asia and described how he would use lessons learned from the Ukraine war to help the US military prepare.

But Air Force General CQ Brown Jr. may not be able to apply those lessons anytime soon, even after being well-received in a confirmation hearing to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Brown’s nomination is among more than 260 being stalled by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. He is blocking the confirmation of all senior military officers in protest over Defense Department policy that pays for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.

A history-making fighter pilot, Brown has a deep knowledge of China and a broad understanding of space, cyber, and other technologies. His confirmation would mean that, for the first time, both the Pentagon’s top military and civilian positions would be held by African Americans.

Brown told the Senate Armed Services Committee that a potential conflict in Asia would be challenging, because of its large size. He said the military has been doing exercises and tabletop drills to practice getting needed equipment into the region quickly. “You cannot wait until the crisis occurs,” he said. “You have to pre-position capability and have that in place. You have to work with allies and partners to have access to locations.”

But discussions about national security were overshadowed by the tensions over Tuberville’s campaign.

Democrats blasted him and Republicans said they are hoping to persuade him to lift the holds — which could affect 650 service members by year’s end.

Tuberville never mentioned the topic when he questioned Brown during the hearing. Instead, he asked about cutting costs in the Joint Chiefs office, and told Brown he’d like an update, “because you’re gonna be the new leader.” He added: “Thank you for taking this on. It’s gonna be a hard job and any way we can help you, we’re here to help.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, offered up a quick retort: “What he could do to help is lift this stay.”