On August 31, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced his resignation from his role, offering no formal reason for doing so. His resignation is effective in the following days.
Before his resignation, Driscoll attended a meeting with the Trump administration. He warned about the damage that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was doing to the military. Driscoll was an ally of former Army Chief of Staff Randy George, who was fired by Hegseth for no known reason. As Driscoll and George supported modernization efforts, especially as they pertained to drone warfare, the former was concerned that Hegseth was throttling progress toward modernization. Driscoll also expressed concerns with Hegseth stalling promotions.
During his tenure, Driscoll, a friend of Vice President JD Vance, had a rivalry with Hegseth. Hegseth “was suspicious and paranoid” over Driscoll’s stature in the Defense Department. Driscoll additionally had bipartisan support, with sixteen Senate Democrats backing him. This resignation comes after a several terminations and resignations in Hegseth’s Pentagon; now that his chief rival is gone, Hegseth has consolidated control over the Defense Department. Hegseth favors Sean Parnell, the sycophantic chief Pentagon spokesperson, to succeed Driscoll.
