Army secretary resigns after tension with Hegseth

Army secretary resigns after tension with Hegseth Dan Driscoll, in submitting his resignation, brought up concerns with the direction of the Army. 08/31/2026 06:55 PM EDT|Updated: 08/31/2026 08:28 PM EDT Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation to the White House on Monday after months of disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the firings of senior officers and the service’s priorities. Driscoll, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, spoke to the president on Monday and brought up concerns with the direction of the Army, according to two people familiar with the situation. The clashes between Driscoll and Hegseth have revolved around initiatives to modernize the service and the Defense secretary’s gutting of key officers, including former Army chief Gen. Randy George, a well-liked and decorated officer who sailed through his congressional confirmation. The Army secretary had told confidants for months that he would leave the Pentagon around the midterm elections, according to the two people and a U.S. official familiar with his thinking, who like others, were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. But his departure comes as the Pentagon grapples with an extended war in the Middle East and a dearth of Senate-confirmed senior leaders. The administration fired former Navy Secretary John Phelan in April. Driscoll, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, is a close confidant of Vance and regularly meets with him at the Executive Office Building for lunches, according to the official. The two were classmates at Yale Law School and Driscoll is expected to play a role in any 2028 presidential campaign that Vance may mount, the official and one of the people familiar said. It was unclear if President Donald Trump had accepted his resignation or who would replace him as acting Army secretary. The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. Dave Fitzgerald, deputy undersecretary of the Army, will also depart the Pentagon as soon as this week, the official said. Fitzgerald has been closely involved in drawing on private equity investment to keep pace with shifting warfare techniques. Both he and Driscoll were two of the most critical voices in bringing small tech firms into the service to help make it more nimble and innovative. The Army chief’s resignation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Hegseth has relieved dozens of officials pushing some of the same initiatives, including James Mingus, the well-regarded Army vice chief and U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander Gen. Christopher Donahue, who was key to leading efforts to support Ukraine and plan against Russian aggression. Mingus, and then George, were replaced by Gen. Christopher LaNeve who now does both jobs. LaNeve was chosen by Hegseth in a surprise move from an Army command in South Korea and elevated to a four-star general. That means acting Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve and an acting civilian official will lead the service as it tries to end a military conflict in the Middle East and assist with Russia’s actions in Europe. They’ll also be the faces of the Army at a time when the administration is trying to convince Congress to make major financial investments in munitions, personnel and equipment. LaNeve, who faces congressional backlash to become the next Army chief of staff, recently stopped a joint training program between U.S. and Ukrainian troops on drone warfare. “If Driscoll and George’s modernization effort wasn’t dead on arrival, it’s likely dead now,” said a former defense official familiar with the effort. “Turning those ideas into reality would’ve always been an uphill battle even if they had served full tenures.” Hegseth and Driscoll also clashed briefly when the Army secretary became the face of the Trump administration’s peace efforts in Ukraine in the fall of 2025. Driscoll traveled to Kyiv to try and help broker a peace deal while Hegseth stayed behind and focused on diversity and equity initiatives. Driscoll also briefly acted as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms last year. Leo Shane contributed to this report.