Army Secretary Dan Driscoll speaks in May during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Driscoll resigned from his role Monday, multiple sources reported. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 31 (UPI) — Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Monday submitted his resignation from the post to the Trump administration after months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to reports.
CNN, NBC News and The Hill all reported the resignation, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
“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 spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to various news outlets Monday evening.
Driscoll, an Army veteran who is also a longtime friend of Vice President JD Vance, has served in the role since February 2025.
Driscoll and Hegseth have clashed over multiple issues to do with personnel. Hegseth has removed more than two dozen senior Pentagon officials, including former Navy Secretary John Phelan and the Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, since taking his position. He also fired Col. David Butler, an adviser to Driscoll, in February, The Hill reported.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former Army Ranger who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, lamented Driscoll’s resignation as “really unfortunate for the Army.”
“It was actually nice, I will say, having someone who was smart, that knew the policy, that wanted to do the work, that had a background in these issues, and I was working hard with them to make good policy, and it’s unfortunate that somebody like that can’t last in this administration,” he told reporters outside the Capitol.
“This administration is like a viper pit. This is not a team; this is a group of people who are shivving each other in the back, attacking each other, trying to climb up the ladder, trying to pad their own pockets. The interest of the American people, protecting Americans is not the top priority for most of the people in this administration, with few exceptions, and we’re all worse off because of it,” Crow said.
Rep. Steve Womack, a Republican from Arkansas, called Driscoll a “transformative leader who brought common sense and discipline to the Department of the Army.”
“The Army is better equipped and prepared to tackle emerging threats because of his leadership that strengthened the force while putting our Soldiers first,” Womack said online.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Pentagon leadership to ensure our Army is ready to fight — and win — in the crucible of ground combat.”
Driscoll’s departure comes as the conflict with Iran reaches its sixth month with no end in sight. Iran and the United States traded attacks again over the weekend, and President Donald Trump again threatened to escalate the conflict Monday.
