U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to the White House after months of tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Driscoll, whom officials have described as close to U.S. Vice President JD Vance, is the latest senior official to be ousted or pushed out of the Defense Department under Hegseth.
The resignation comes as the United States remains engaged in a war with Iran, with thousands of U.S. Army troops deployed across the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear whether the White House had accepted Driscoll’s resignation.
The source said Driscoll had raised concerns within the administration over efforts to transform the Army and improve its readiness, as well as Hegseth’s obstruction of those efforts, particularly through the dismissal of generals overseeing them.
The U.S. Army declined to comment on the report, which was first published by The Wall Street Journal.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that Driscoll had been “highly effective” in advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda of making the United States strong again through the Army Department. She credited him with providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring a focus on readiness and lethality, and assisting in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, among other efforts.
The source said Indiv Fitzgerald, the Army’s deputy undersecretary focused on innovation, is also expected to resign. Fitzgerald did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Growing Frustration With Hegseth
Driscoll, whose nomination as the Army’s top civilian official was confirmed by the Senate in February 2025, pushed the Army to become more flexible in procuring lower-cost weapons and criticized major defense contractors. The Army secretary is responsible for training and equipping soldiers.
Last year, referring to major defense companies, Driscoll said: “The defense industrial base generally, and the major prime contractors in particular, have deceived the American people, the Defense Department and the Army.”
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hegseth viewed Driscoll as a threat within the bureaucracy and had long wanted him removed. However, Driscoll’s ties to Vance made it more difficult for Hegseth to do so, the official said.
Driscoll gained prominence outside the Defense Department after Trump selected him to participate in talks with Moscow and Kyiv aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, an unusual diplomatic role for an Army secretary.
In April, Hegseth dismissed Army Chief of Staff Randy George in a major personnel shake-up as the U.S. military was engaged in a major war in the Middle East.
The official said George’s dismissal surprised Driscoll and further increased his frustration with Hegseth.
Driscoll told lawmakers in April that after George was dismissed, his family drove to the former general’s home and embraced him.
In June, Hegseth also pushed for the removal of the commander of U.S. forces in Europe and personally blocked the promotions of senior U.S. Army officials.
Republican Congressman Pat Harrigan said: “Driscoll brought a sense of urgency to an institution that cannot afford complacency.”
“Dan’s service to this country is not over,” Harrigan added.
Source: Reuters
