US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to step down by the end of the year, leaving the Army without a Senate-confirmed leader after months of tension with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
This follows Hegseth’s April firing of General Randy George as the army’s chief of staff without explanation, drawing criticism from Republicans in Congress and from Driscoll, who described George as “an amazing, transformative leader.”
US President Donald Trump has not yet nominated a replacement. Hegseth’s former senior military aide, General Christopher LaNeve, has been serving as acting Army chief of staff.
Reports of tension between Driscoll and Hegseth emerged early in the Trump administration after Hegseth shut down Driscoll’s offer to organize a visit by US Vice President JD Vance and Trump to meet soldiers and talk about military reform, according to the WSJ.
Driscoll and George worked to reform the US military
Driscoll and George were close partners and worked to integrate new technology into the military, seeing it as the future of warfare, the WSJ wrote.
The two also traveled to Ukraine together with General Chris Donahue, the army’s former top general in Europe, so Driscoll could meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about peace negotiations.
During his 18 months as army secretary, Driscoll encouraged the military to act like the Ukrainian army in finding ways to use commercial technology on the battlefield. Private companies have since pledged to spend more than $25 billion building data centers, critical mineral refineries, and dining facilities on army bases across the country, according to the WSJ.
Driscoll and his family moved out of the house reserved for the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, where several top defense officials lived; his family relocated to North Carolina, and Driscoll himself moved into a smaller apartment on base, the WSJ wrote.
Trump praised Driscoll last month, calling him one of “the best guys.”
“With that beautiful smile, but he’s actually a killer. Look at that beautiful, nice face. Everything’s so happy. He’s a killer. Would you believe it? Those are the best guys, actually,” he said.
