US Army Secretary Resigns After Months of Tension With Pentagon Chief
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has resigned after about 18 months in the role, following months of conflict with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. He was the youngest person ever to hold the post.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation after roughly a year and a half in office. CBS, the BBC's US media partner, confirmed the departure, reporting it followed months of friction between Driscoll and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Driscoll, 41, the youngest-ever army secretary, became widely known as President Donald Trump's "drone guy" for his embrace of emerging battlefield technology. In a statement to CBS, the White House said Driscoll had been "highly effective" in advancing the president's agenda and provided "outstanding leadership" during military operations. The BBC has sought comment from the White House, Pentagon and Army.
Wave of departures among senior military leaders
Driscoll is the latest in a series of high-profile military leaders to leave their posts recently, following Navy Secretary John Phelan, who abruptly quit in April. Other departures include Army Chief of Staff Randy George, Army Gen David Hodne and Maj Gen William Green. Since taking over the Pentagon, Hegseth has fired more than a dozen senior officers, including the chief of naval operations and the Air Force's vice-chief of staff.
The specifics behind the tension between Driscoll and Hegseth remain unclear, but CBS reports that Driscoll is close friends with George, who was reportedly asked by Hegseth to step down.
The army secretary is the Army's top civilian leader, overseeing active-duty troops as well as the National Guard and reserve forces. Driscoll previously served as an Army officer starting in 2007, leading a cavalry platoon before deploying to Iraq for several months in 2009.
As army secretary, he took a leading role in talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, including foreign trips and meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He is also a close ally of Vice-President JD Vance, whom he met at Yale Law School. Driscoll was a key figure in Trump's deployment of the National Guard to US cities and also served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
