Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation this week after disagreements with War Secretary Pete Hegseth seeped into the public eye.
Driscoll, who is a college friend of Vice President JD Vance, is expected to leave the Pentagon in the coming days, according to multiple outlets The development is notable, as Driscoll is now the second top military secretary in months to exit during the Iran war after Navy Secretary John Phelan left the administration in April. Driscoll’s departure comes after he publicly broke with Hegseth’s move to force Gen. Randy George, the ousted Army chief of staff, into retirement in April. At the time, Driscoll said he “loved” the general.
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“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 the Washington Examiner. “The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War.”
Driscoll said he’d leave the post effective Sept. 3, according to the Military Times. Hegseth is considering Sean Parnell, an Army veteran and political operative now serving as the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, as Driscoll’s replacement, per the outlet.
While Driscoll has turned in his resignation, it is still pending and has not yet been accepted by the White House, according to Fox News. He resigned due to concerns surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth blocking those efforts specifically by firing the generals who were responsible, per the outlet.
Purported tensions with Hegseth weren’t helped when the Pentagon chief reportedly pressed Driscoll to remove Col. Dave Butler from his job serving as chief of Army public affairs and chief adviser to the Army secretary in February.
In April, Driscoll pushed back on rumors that tensions between himself and Hegseth would lead him to leave.
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“Serving under President Trump has been the honor of a lifetime, and I remain laser focused on providing America with the strongest land fighting force the world has ever seen,” Driscoll said. “I have no plans to depart or resign as the Secretary of the Army.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Army for comment.
