By Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) – U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to the White House following months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
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Driscoll, who officials said is close to U.S. Vice President JD Vance, becomes the latest senior official who has either been fired or pushed out in Hegseth’s Pentagon. It also comes as the United States is still engaged in a war with Iran, with thousands of U.S. Army soldiers deployed in the Middle East.
It was unclear if the White House had accepted his resignation.
“Driscoll brought up concerns with the administration surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth’s blocking those efforts specifically by firing the generals who were responsible,” the source said, referring to his efforts to modernize the Army.
The Army declined to comment on the news, 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 spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.
The source said that Dave Fitzgerald, the deputy undersecretary of the Army who was focused on innovation within the Army, was also expected to resign. Fitzgerald did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BREWING FRUSTRATION WITH HEGSETH
Driscoll, who was confirmed for the top Army position in February 2025, pushed the Army to be more nimble in acquiring cheaper weapons and chastised large weapons makers. The Army Secretary is responsible for training and equipping soldiers.
“(The) defense industrial base broadly, and the primes in particular, conned the American people and the Pentagon and the Army,” Driscoll said last year in a reference to large defense companies.
One U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Hegseth saw Driscoll as a threat within the bureaucracy and had long wanted to remove him. But his ties to Vance, the official said, made it tough for Hegseth to do so.
Driscoll gained prominence outside the Pentagon when he was tapped by Trump to take part in talks with Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine – a rare diplomatic task for an Army secretary.
In April, Hegseth fired U.S. Army Chief of Staff Randy George, a major staffing change that came as the U.S. military was fighting a major war in the Middle East.
The official said George’s firing caught Driscoll off guard and led to increased frustration with Hegseth.
Driscoll told lawmakers in April that after George was fired, his family drove to the former general’s house and gave him a hug.
In June, Hegseth also pushed out the head of U.S. Army forces in Europe and he has personally blocked the promotion of senior Army officials.
“Driscoll brought urgency to an institution that cannot afford complacency,” Republican Congressman Pat Harrigan said.
“Dan’s service to this country is far from over,” Harrigan added.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington. Additional reporting by Stevel Holland in Washington and Natalia Bueno Rebolledo in Mexico City; Editing by Chris Reese, Sanjeev Miglani and Stephen Coates)
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