Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is reportedly preparing to leave his post, making him the latest high-profile Washington figure expected to exit after months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Driscoll is anticipated to step down before the end of the year, though his departure could happen earlier, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Signs of a possible transition have already emerged: Driscoll has moved out of his official housing at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, the Virginia installation near Arlington National Cemetery that houses senior defense officials.
Although he has continued staying in a smaller apartment on the base, his family has relocated to North Carolina, according to the report.
The expected resignation follows a series of disagreements between Driscoll and Hegseth, including disputes over the Defense Secretary’s decisions to hold up promotions for several Army officers and the April removal of a senior official closely aligned with Driscoll.
Hegseth’s earlier dismissal of Army Chief of Staff Randy George has also left the service facing a leadership gap, with Donald Trump yet to put forward a nominee to replace him.
Both the Army secretary and Army chief of staff positions require Senate confirmation. In the meantime, General Christopher LaNeve, a former Hegseth aide, has been serving as George’s acting replacement.
The Daily Mail has contacted both the Army and the Pentagon seeking comment.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll (pictured) is set to be the latest powerful name in Washington to step down after months of clashing with Pete Hegseth
Driscoll has disagreed with Hegseth on a number of issues, including the Defense Secretary’s moves to block the promotion of several Army officers and the April ouster of a key Driscoll ally
The New York Post reported in April that Driscoll caused George’s firing because the two are close.
George was Driscoll’s top aide and an official said that Hegseth has been worried Driscoll would replace him ever since the infamous March 2025 group chat fiasco.
‘This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signal-gate. Unfortunately, it is stoked by some of his closest aides who should be trying to calm the waters,’ a source told the paper.
The White House backed Driscoll in a statement at the time and a source said Hegseth ‘can’t fire’ Driscoll for the time being.
‘He is very concerned about being fired and he knows that Driscoll is one of the top contenders, or a natural contender, to succeed him,’ the source added.
The firing of George is an attempt to get rid of anyone perceived to be an ally of Driscoll, who is also said to be close to Vice President JD Vance.
George was Driscoll’s top aide and an official said that Hegseth has been worried Driscoll would replace him ever since the infamous March 2025 group chat fiasco.
‘This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signal-gate. Unfortunately, it is stoked by some of his closest aides who should be trying to calm the waters,’ they said.
The firing of Chief of Staff Randy George earlier this year by Hegseth means the Army will no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader, as Donald Trump has yet to nominate a replacement for George
The secretary has already moved out of housing at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, a Virginia base near Arlington Cemetery where key defense officials live
The White House backed Driscoll in a statement last night and a source said Hegseth ‘can’t fire’ Driscoll for the time being.
‘He is very concerned about being fired and he knows that Driscoll is one of the top contenders, or a natural contender, to succeed him,’ the source added.
The firing of George is an attempt to get rid of anyone perceived to be an ally of Driscoll, who is also said to be close to Vice President JD Vance.
In April, one senior Pentagon official argued to the Washington Post that Driscoll focused too much on his political future instead of his role managing soldiers’ training and equipment.
Three others, though, disputed the suggestion that Driscoll has been performing poorly in the role.
One said Driscoll, who worked in venture capital and led an Army cavalry scout platoon during the Iraq War, has ‘made a ton of institutional changes and stayed out of things that the military shouldn’t touch, especially with culture wars.’
George, a Biden appointee, is understood to have clashed with the Trump Administration’s vision for the Army.
Yet those familiar with the situation say Driscoll intervened when Hegseth previously tried to fire General George, who was confirmed by the Senate in 2023.
The general had long been seen as a target for firing within the Trump administration not only because he was selected to lead the Army by the previous administration, but also because he served as a senior military assistant to former President Joe Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin.
George has also spoken out in favor of diversity training for military personnel, telling lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that it is just one component in a broader effort to build cohesive teams.
During his tenure, he worked closely with Driscoll, who reportedly backed the general’s effort to continually experiment with and adopt drones and other emerging technology.
The two even traveled to Ukraine last year in an effort to gather lessons learned from the war.
‘There have been multiple instances where Secretary Hegseth has tried to remove George and Driscoll has said, “No he’s done nothing wrong. He’s good,”‘ one official said, adding that the Army Secretary ‘has been very clear that merit should speak for itself.’
It remains unclear exactly why George was removed from his position.
But his ouster came after he faced two major issues: Hegseth’s decision to block the promotion of two black and two female officers to one-star generals and the controversial appearance of Apache helicopters outside Kid Rock’s home.
Sources told the Washington Post that George tried to meet with Hegseth to discuss the blocked promotion, but was rebuffed.
Hegseth has purged more than a dozen senior officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse.
