Army Secretary Driscoll Quits After Clashes With Hegseth
Dan Driscoll handed his resignation to Donald Trump after months of friction with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon.
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The Resignation
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation after about 18 months in the role. The White House confirmed on Monday that he handed it to President Donald Trump.
CBS, the BBC's US media partner, reported that the departure followed months of conflict between Driscoll and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Driscoll, 41, was second in line to Hegseth at the defence department.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Associated Press that Driscoll had been "highly effective in advancing President Trump's agenda to Make America Strong Again", citing his leadership during military operations and his work on negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The BBC said it had contacted the White House, the Pentagon and the Army for comment.
Reported Reasons for the Split
The precise details of the friction are unclear. CBS noted that Driscoll is a close friend of Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, who was reportedly asked by Hegseth to resign.
The Atlantic, citing reporting by Nancy A. Youssef, Missy Ryan and Michael Scherer, said a person familiar with the resignation described Driscoll raising "concerns with the administration surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth's blocking those efforts specifically by firing the Generals who were responsible". The Atlantic characterised this as Driscoll complaining to the White House about Hegseth, with the president siding with Hegseth.
That account has not been confirmed by the White House or the Pentagon in the material available.
A Pattern of Departures
Driscoll is the latest in a series of senior departures. The BBC lists Navy Secretary John Phelan, who quit abruptly in April, along with George, Army General David Hodne and Major General William Green.
The Guardian reports that George was ousted in April and that in June, General Christopher Donahue, commander of Army forces in Europe and Africa, unexpectedly stepped down. The BBC says Hegseth has fired more than a dozen senior military officers since arriving at the Pentagon, including the chief of naval operations and the Air Force vice-chief of staff.
The Atlantic writes that the Army now has neither a Senate-confirmed chief of staff nor a secretary, adding that George's proposed replacement, General Christopher LaNeve, so far lacks the votes for confirmation.
Who Driscoll Is
Driscoll served in the Army, becoming an officer in 2007, then led a cavalry platoon and deployed to Iraq for several months in 2009. He is a tech investor and former adviser to Vice-President JD Vance, whom he met at Yale Law School.
The Senate confirmed him in February 2025 by 66 votes to 28. Trump called him "a disruptor and change agent" when nominating him in 2024.
As the youngest ever army secretary, he became known as Trump's "drone guy" for pushing to cut red tape so contractors could develop drones and counter-drone systems faster. He also took a leading role in talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was a key figure in Trump's National Guard deployments to US cities, and served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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