WASHINGTON — Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months, the White House said Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, the latest senior-service departure in President Donald Trump's second term and one that officials tied to months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom the White House statement called "Secretary of War."

No public reason was attached to the announcement. A U.S. Army official, unauthorized to speak on the record, told the Associated Press that Driscoll spoke with Trump about the current state of the Army and submitted his resignation. The Wall Street Journal reported the resignation earlier Monday. The Pentagon referred questions to the Army.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Driscoll had 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." She added: "The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War."

Officials speaking anonymously described a different ledger. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that 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." CBS News, citing a similar account, said those concerns included Hegseth's ouster of generals tied to the transformation. Hegseth in April ousted Gen. Randy George, then Army chief of staff and a Driscoll ally; Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, stepped down in June. Driscoll told Congress in April that he and his family drove to George's house "and we all gave him a hug," AP reported, while adding that "civilian leadership … get to pick the leaders that they want."

Driscoll, an Iraq War veteran and former adviser to Vice President JD Vance — they met at Yale Law School — was confirmed 66-28 in February 2025. Trump had called him "a disruptor and change agent." As Army secretary he was also used as a negotiator on the Russia-Ukraine war, an unusual role for the service secretary. He commissioned as an armor officer in 2007, led a cavalry platoon in the 10th Mountain Division, and deployed to Baghdad. CNN reported it was unclear when he would actually leave; typically the under secretary would act in the interim.

The civilian secretary of the Army is supposed to run the service under the defense secretary. When those two jobs collide, the defense secretary wins, and the Army's confirmed civilian leaves. Hegseth had long wanted Driscoll out, one U.S. official told Reuters. Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on Armed Services and a former Army officer, said Hegseth is "cultivating a culture where dissent is punished and competence is secondary to personal allegiance," with "hundreds of thousands of soldiers … deployed around the world, many in combat zones." That is a partisan statement. The vacancy is not.

Sources