Caine, a three-star general whom Trump has praised since at least 2019, helped lead an operation in Iraq against the Islamic State during Trump’s first term.

President Trump has picked retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. NBC News' Courtney Kube has details on Trump and Caine's past and the possible complications of getting him confirmed to the position.

Donald Trump's fascination with the retired three-star general appears to go back to their first meeting in Iraq in 2018, when Trump said Caine told him that the Islamic State could be destroyed in just one week.