Washington, July 26 (IANS) The US Senate has voted to confirm Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The upper chamber on Thursday voted 89-1 in favour of Milley's nomination, which President Donald Trump announced in December 2018, Xinhua reported.

Milley, 61, is to succeed Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, who will step down in September 2019 after finishing a four-year term as the nation's highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council.

A four-star general, Milley assumed duty as chief of staff of the U.S. Army in August 2015 after serving as commander of the Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He also served in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.

During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Milley told lawmakers that he would not be "intimidated into making stupid decisions" and would give his best advice to the White House.

Milley's confirmation came two days after Mark Esper was confirmed and sworn in as secretary of defense, which ended a nearly seven-month period that the Pentagon had been without a Senate-approved chief.

--IANS vin/