Senate confirms Army general as next Joint Chiefs chairman

WASHINGTON-The Associated Press

The Senate has voted 89-1 to confirm the Army's top officer, Gen. Mark Milley (MIHL'-ee), to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Milley will succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, whose term expires Oct. 1.

President Donald Trump announced last December that he'd picked Milley, who is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The role of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is to advise the president, the National Security Council and the defense secretary on a range of military matters. The chairman does not command any military forces.

Milley's Senate-confirmed successor as Army chief of staff is Gen. James McConville, who is currently the Army vice chief of staff.