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.

The retired Air Force general announced as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump after the abrupt Friday night firing of his predecessor is a respected career F-16 pilot who is described by current and former officials who served with him as a professional with a “strong moral center.

The decision to fire Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a four-star fighter pilot, broke a tradition in which the Joint Chiefs chairman remains in place with a new president.