US Army secretary Dan Driscoll to resign after clashes with Pete Hegseth

• US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned after clashes with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth amid ongoing military tensions with Iran.
• Driscoll was praised by the White House for leadership and reforms but had a strained relationship with Hegseth over personnel and control issues.
• His departure leaves the Army without Senate-confirmed leadership and follows the earlier firing of General Randy George, Driscoll's close ally.

WASHINGTON – US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll who clashed with his boss, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, has submitted his resignation, according to a person familiar with the matter, even as the military conflict with Iran continues. 

Driscoll’s departure, which was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal, is the latest high-profile exit at the Defence Department under Hegseth.

“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 on Aug 31.

“The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the commander-in-chief and Secretary of War.”

The move follows a series of leadership changes and firings across the military services as Hegseth continues to reshape the Pentagon to align with the White House’s priorities.

Driscoll’s departure comes months after Hegseth fired the Army’s chief of staff, General Randy George, who was close to Driscoll.

Driscoll’s Pentagon departure means that the Army will be left with no Senate-confirmed leadership.

Driscoll, the 26th Army secretary, was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2025 at the age of 38, making him the youngest to serve in the role.

He is a close friend of vice-president J.D. Vance from their days together at Yale Law School.

As a venture capitalist, he reframed the role, running the Army like a business itself.

He oversaw the service during a period of major restructuring and budget pressure, including directives tied to Pentagon-wide reforms.

He also took on an unusual dual role as acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an unprecedented overlap between defence and a domestic law enforcement agency.

Driscoll drew unprecedented attention as an Army secretary when he was tapped to help broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, raising questions as to why the defence secretary was not the one chosen as a negotiator.

According to sources across the Pentagon, Driscoll had a strained relationship with Hegseth, marked by disagreements over personnel and leadership decisions.

Hegseth has directly intervened in Army matters, at times ordering Driscoll to remove senior advisers, highlighting tensions over control of the service.

Driscoll reportedly resisted efforts to remove certain officers from promotion lists, including women and black officers.

Most recently, Hegseth’s removed George almost a year earlier than a usual term as chief would end.

George and Driscoll worked well together and often tag-teamed in speaking engagements and events where they touted the Army’s ambitious transformation efforts. BLOOMBERG