The United States Secretary of the Army, the highest civilian position in the institution, Dan Driscoll, has submitted his resignation to the U.S. President, Donald Trump, after months of tensions with the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, due to the dismissals of generals at the top of the Armed Forces, including the Chief of Staff, in the midst of the war with Iran.
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As anticipated this Monday by the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll will leave the Pentagon “in the coming days” and notes that, with his departure, the Army will lack civilian or military leaders confirmed by the Senate.
The outgoing Secretary of the Army maintains a close relationship with the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance, and, with his resignation, becomes the latest senior official who has been dismissed or removed from the Pentagon led by Hegseth. His departure also occurs while the country remains at war with Iran, with thousands of soldiers deployed in the Middle East. It is unclear whether the White House has accepted his resignation or who might replace him.
Driscoll had expressed to the Trump administration his concern about the transformation of the Army’s leadership. He believed that Hegseth was harming the institution, “specifically by dismissing the generals who were his superiors,” Fox News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Hegseth recently removed Generals Christopher Donahue and Randy George, the latter Chief of Staff, as well as the former Deputy Army Director, James Mingus, and filled the positions of the latter two with a single high-ranking military officer, General Christopher LaNeve.
Another American newspaper, The New York Times, reports, citing officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, that Driscoll personally met with Trump to submit his resignation and discuss the current situation of the Army and its personnel.
Since Hegseth dismissed General George, the highest military official of the institution, in April without publicly offering any explanation, the position of Chief of Staff has been vacant and, with no indication of who might fill that role, according to The New York Times. Hegseth has forced the dismissal of at least three high-ranking military officers who were considered possible successors to George.
With Driscoll’s resignation, the Armed Forces are also left, at least until a successor is appointed, without their highest civilian leader, as crucial midterm elections will be held in November, in which Republicans will arrive burdened by the Iran war, according to various voting intention polls in the United States.
A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, highlighted to the media Driscoll’s work in “historic military operations,” his “emphasis on readiness and lethality,” and the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal also indicated that the acting Deputy Secretary of the Army, Dave Fitzgerald, who has focused on attracting private investments to modernize Defense technology, will also leave his position this week.
Driscoll, a former Army first lieutenant aged 40, is a politician who has managed to garner consensus even from some Democratic representatives. According to The New York Times, until recently his name was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Hegseth if Trump replaced the current Secretary of Defense, a controversial figure not only for his Democratic rivals but also for some Republicans. Hegseth has clashed with some of those fellow party members, who are part of the committees overseeing the Pentagon’s work in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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