U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns after reported friction with Hegseth

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns after reported friction with Hegseth BEN FINLEY AND AAMER MADHANI WASHINGTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO UPDATED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: Then-U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll speaks at the America 250 celebration at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., in June, 2025. KARL B. DEBLAKER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, the White House said Monday, in the latest departure of a top military leader during the Trump administration. No reason was given for the departure of Driscoll, who is a friend of Vice President JD Vance, but tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been widely reported. It marks the latest in a series of shakeups of military leadership, with the Army especially seeing major upheaval. “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 said 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. A U.S. Army official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Driscoll spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on the current state of the Army and submitted his resignation. The official did not provide additional details. The Pentagon referred questions to the Army. Driscoll’s resignation was reported earlier Monday by The Wall Street Journal. Trump vows to hit Iran hard as conflict threatens to escalate again Hegseth suddenly ousted the service’s top uniformed leader, Gen. Randy George, in April, while the Army’s commander in Europe and Africa, Gen. Christopher Donahue, unexpectedly stepped down in June. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who has made a meteoric rise under Hegseth, took George’s place as the Army’s acting chief of staff. Under LaNeve, the service is pulling the plug on a drone modernization program that Driscoll had heralded. An Army unit based in Europe was building its own drones before LaNeve directed it to…