Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned Monday, becoming the latest senior figure in Washington to leave his post after months of reported tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Driscoll had already been expected to depart sometime before the end of the year, but the White House confirmed Monday that his exit was moving forward.
‘Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more,’ White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Our News Outlet in a statement.
‘The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War,’ she added.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Driscoll is expected to formally leave the role in the coming days.
The departure follows disagreements between Driscoll and Hegseth over multiple issues, including Hegseth’s efforts to halt the promotions of several Army officers and the April removal of a key Driscoll ally.
Hegseth’s earlier firing of Chief of Staff Randy George leaves the Army without a Senate-confirmed leader, since Donald Trump has not yet put forward a nominee to replace George.
The resignation also lands as Trump has faced his own friction with Hegseth, who has been rumored to be increasingly sidelined inside the administration.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll became the latest powerful name in Washington to step down, resigning Monday after months of reported clashing with Pete Hegseth
Both Driscoll and George’s jobs require majority approval from the Senate. A former Hegseth aide, General Christopher LaNeve, has been working as the interim replacement for George.
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 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.
This is a developing story.
